Once... Again

I'm sitting at my desk listening to the music from the movie Once... and I'm wondering if the Guy made it as an artist, with his ex-girlfriend, or in life, in general. I wonder because the Girl was the exact inspiration and drive that he needed at the right time in his life. While he was obviously a good songwriter on his own, she was the muse that made him put it all together, gave him the drive to finish, and the impetus to move to London and make a go of it. Leaving without her, how can he possibly fare?

In my mind, the Guy probably moves back in with the ex-girlfriend, starts up a new relationship. But she hasn't really changed, and he's a different person now, one with different needs. He's still egotistical as all hell, so the relationship will probably fail. This is great for him, because the Guy now has both his leaving his muse (the Girl) and the breakup about which to write. As Bono sang, "Every artist kills their inspiration and sings about the grief." But the Guy will not have that drive; he'll probably sell the album he made with the Girl and get a contract. He'll do small shows, but with a rotating band of musicians, because he won't be able to keep them too long. He'll slowly devolve until he is nearly the same place as when we meet him... a guy with good songs who needs something outside to spur him to act. He needs the Girl.

The problem is the Girl doesn't really need him. While, in Czech, she does say that she loves the Guy, she has her mother, her daughter, her returned husband. She doesn't have the same drives or needs as the Guy, and is more willing to sacrifice for her own, private greater good. She will write and compose and play on the piano the Guy gets for her (unless her husband turns into the same jerk he was, and breaks it or sells it). She will remember the brief, intense love she had for that moment in time, but it will not rule her. She will continue her life, quietly.

The creator of the movie said he called it "Once..." because of how many times he heard his artistic friends saying, "Once such and such happens...," "Once so and so come around...," and "Once I win the lottery...," and so on. It was always something outside their control that needed to happen in order for their dreams to come around. He always felt you made your own luck and had to keep pressing (and, look, he wrote and directed a film about it!). The Guy is an amalgam stereotype of this sort of thinking, and I simply don't think he can 'do it' without the Girl.

In most cases I read, hear, or learn about, the self-made man isn't. The great politicians, artist, stars are all great because of someone pushing the right buttons. We constantly hear about people like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant finding new motivations, and it is usually of a negative sort; someone says they can't, they shouldn't, they aren't able to, and it sends them off to prove the opposite. Sometimes it is the right person with the kind word, the words of encouragement, at the right time when they are ready to listen who propels someone to stardom and success. In every story of a great person, there is always someone who provides the kind word, the motivation, the constructive criticism at the right time(s) that propels the successful person forward one more time. The Girl is that voice for the Guy, and I just don't see him succeeding without her in his life.

I do not know why this move resonates with me so much. I watch it probably twice a year and I listen to the soundtrack often. Something about the story, the characters, the music just hits me in the right spot and puts me in a contemplative mood. Well, my Once soundtrack is done and dinner is almost ready. Maybe it is time for a DVD this evening afterward?