The Swell Season: Love & Music After the Oscars

Once, the poignant movie about an Irish busker and a Czech woman who meet in Dublin and over the course of a few days make some beautiful music, was one of the most successful indie movies of 2007. This year, the stage adaptation of the film won the Tony for Best Musical, further confirming that this seemingly small story continues to strike a chord with people. For anyone who loved the movie and/or the music that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova put together so simply and movingly, The Swell Season is a must-see documentary.

The movie follows Hansard and Irglova on their two-year tour with their band, The Swell Season, right after winning the 2007 Best Original Song Oscar for the heartbreaking "Falling Slowly" from Once. The documentary was filmed from 2007 to 2010 and originally was meant to be a straightforward behind-the-scenes look at everything that goes into a successful and exhausting two-year tour. However, the filmmakers stumbled upon a parallel story, the changing dynamics in the relationship between Hansard and Irglova, who fell in love while filming Once. As the film progresses, we watch their relationship evolve and eventually crumble under the pressures of fame.

Hansard started busking in the streets of Dublin at the age of thirteen and was in his mid-thirties when Once put him on the map and brought him worldwide acclaim. He is a dynamic personality, loud and passionate on stage and warm and friendly with the newfound fans who demand autographs and pictures at every stop of the tour. On the other hand, Irglova was barely out of high school when she was catapulted into fame, and the film makes it clear that she has her reservations with fame and prefers to keep some distance from all this fervent adulation. Ultimately, these differing attitudes are what come between the couple - neither can understand why the other feels the way they do, and there's only so long that they can tell each other to cheer up and keep going.

The documentary is shot in sumptuous black-and-white, leading you to focus wholly on the conversations and stellar music that punctuate every scene. Hansard and Irglova pour their lives into their songs, and while they often can't wholly explain their feelings when talking to each other or the filmmakers, they make themselves perfectly clear in song. Hansard's relationship with his parents also makes for some moving scenes, and everyone has their own idea about the best way to deal with fame and renown, which causes a fair amount of friction.

The Swell Season feels like a natural sequel to Once, all the more poignant because it is a true story of two extremely talented and likable people. Despite their differences, the two of them are bonded by their shared experience, and as Irglova puts it, if they can't make it in this life, they might in the next. But though the romance may not have worked out, the music continues.