The Swell Season (2012)

This is a black and white documentary about Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová's world wind tour after the Oscars for "Once". I have to admit that "Once" is one of my favorite movies. And in this film, we're given a backstage pass into their lives. Only there's something wrong. It's not the perfunctory concert movie. There seems to be a distance in the much described love affair between the couple.The first half goes on without much tension. It's a rather slow movie. But then we start to see some of the problems emerging. There are some insights into the pressure and tension building inside the relationship. It's not a happy watch by all means, and everybody should be aware of it.

I think this is a good movie. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova show their feelings and thoughts honestly in this film, and it was interesting. Their personal stories and musics are really well combined. I felt that real life is as hard as described in Once. But both films are beautiful.The only problem is that it was released with a title "Once Again" in Korea. I don't know why, maybe the distributing agency thought that is a cool name enough to attract many audiences who know about Once. Many people expected the film is the following up, and might feel deceived after watching it. The title "Once Again" is not suitable for the movie at all. If the movie kept its real title, that would have been better. It is very sad that some korean audiences were disappointed by the film because of its korean title. I think the korean agency should feel sorry about their stupid choice. "The Swell Season" itself is good enough.

First, full disclosure. I am friends with two of the filmmakers--Chris Dapkins and Carlo Mirabella-Davis--and their parents. In fact, Chris Dapkins grew up a mile and a half down the road, which in our part of rural upstate New York made us the equivalent of next-door neighbors.So I was prepared to like The Swell Season. But to be stunned by it? Though I am no longer a fan of pop music, I sat absolutely riveted through every frame of this extraordinary story of two performers on tour in public and private. The choice of black and white photography was just right, and the filmmakers let their narrative unfold in a straightforward fashion without adornment or visual gimmicks.I loved the music by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, and ached at the sad poignancy of their gradual breakup. Their doomed romance took me back to that brief but legendary love affair between Joan Baez and Bob Dylan in those younger days in the 1960s when I cared deeply about such public matters of the heart.Ron Bailey, author and retired journalist

This is not just another concert tour movie (although fans will find plenty to satisfy), but a many layered film about sudden notoriety, artistic passion and how the protagonists (Glen and Marketa , already known to us from the film Once and their music) handle it all. The Swell Season takes a unique approach to the music doc category, turning it around so that it feels like fiction, unfolding a narrative that traces the arc of a relationship. Often it offers glimpses (as in scenes with glen's parents] at what makes these two, glen especially, tick. The concert footage mostly avoids the long view of the stage and pans of the audience; instead, it stays inside the band, up close and personal. Last, but definitely not least, it is beautifully shot in burnished black and white.