Last night I finally got around to watching Once, the little Irish indie flick that got so much critical acclaim last year. It is, in fact, a remarkable film -- worthy of the buzz.

I'm not sure what you'd call it. A "musical"? Not exactly -- the movie's entirely naturalistic. There's no spontaneous breaking out into song and dance. It very much looks like a gritty indie, handheld cameras and all. And yet, substantial portions of its running time are spent on nothing more than steady shots of people playing music. In this way it's almost like an extended music video.

And through all that comes a love story of sorts, though a modest one -- there's no melodrama, no fairy tale ending, no slow-motion-running-through-the-streets-to-catch-her-at-the-airport. Just two people who meet, spend some time together making music, and then part. I don't even think they ever kiss.

Yet through some strange alchemy, the very modesty of the movie -- its style and its story -- serves to convey an unmediated and intensely visceral sense at the power of music to connect people on a level deeper than talk. I honestly can't remember a better movie about music.