Once Upon a Visitor...

Sunday salutations, bloggy people! Hope your weekend's been good! Mine was nice... full of sunshine (up 'til now, that is), lawn mowing, and car washing. Last night I headed over the mountain to hang out with the Republican, as he's shipping out to Iraq soon. We went out for Italian (his with no veg at all, mine with nothing but) and later watched a fantastic movie, which is the reason for this post, really...

If you like Indie films, which I do, and you like music, which I do, and you like Irish accents, which I do, you have to check out Once. I loved it (obviously, or I wouldn't be telling you about it, would I?). It's about a guy and a girl (and since their names are never mentioned in the film, that's actually how they're credited at the end)... he's a songwriter (played by Glen Hansard, lead singer for the Irish band, The Frames) who's nursing a broken heart ... she's a feisty young Czech pianist and single mom (played by Marketa Irglova) who's starting over in Ireland after leaving her husband. They meet on the street, where he sings for money, and begin a week-long relationship that centers around music. Their connection is immediate and strong, apparent in the songs they write, perform, and produce, and although the movie is about their relationship, it's also the story of how sometimes it takes a random meeting, and one special person, to kick your butt into gear and do what you need to do to follow your dreams. The music in the film is the sort of stuff I love (and it reminded me of one of my favorite singers - Martyn Joseph, a Welsh guy with a gravelly, soulful voice). Here's a link for the song which won an Oscar, called Falling Slowly. Check it out... and check out the movie if you can find it... it's well worth a look!

It reminded me a lot of another Indie film I saw last year... I didn't expect it at all, but The Visitor quickly became one of my favorite movies. It was about a college professor whose life, after the death of his wife, had become about just going through the motions. When he went to NYC to attend a conference, he found a young couple (she from Senegal, he from Syria) living in the apartment he kept in the city. They'd been duped by a rental scam but because the professor was a generous man, he allowed them to stay. The movie was about the wonderful relationship that developed between the professor and the young Syrian man and, as in Once, about how a chance meeting can change your life and wake you up to what you want and need, even if you had no clue what that was prior. I won't tell you too much about it, as I don't want to spoil it if you decide to check it out. It was an amazing film, though, and again, well worth a look!

OK, that's it for me for now. Off to the grocery store... whoo hoo!! Have a great rest-of-the-day! xo