History Film / Once

* BigApplesauce: The Guy's ex-girlfriend lives in New York, instead of London, as she did in the film. Guy considers flying there to try and win her back. [[spoiler: PlayedForDrama, as this means Guy and Girls's decision to part is more irrevocable.]]

* DiegeticMusic: a fair bit of it is, despite being a musical.
* DreadfulMusician: the banker. His guitar playing is serviceable, but...

* TheGhost: the Girl's husband never appears, though he is the topic of some discussion.

* ScreenToStageAdaptation: winning a bunch of awards, providing the setting to one of Creator/NeilPatrickHarris's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=danBaPWT09A Tony Award]] openers, and bringing the original Girl, Creator/CristinMilioti, to the eyes of the ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' casting directors.

* BigApplesauce: The Guy's ex-girlfriend lives in New York, instead of London, as she did in the film. Guy considers flying there to try and win her back. [[spoiler: [[ PlayedForDrama, as this means Guy and Girls's decision to part is more irrevocable.]]

* NotableOriginalMusic: Hansard and Irglova composed and arranged a couple new songs for the musical, including the Czech folk tune "Ej Pada Pada Rosicka" and the new Guy solo "Sleeping".

* ScreenToStageAdaptation: winning a bunch of awards, providing the setting to one of Creator/NeilPatrickHarris's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=danBaPWT09A Tony Award]] openers, and bringing the original Girl, Cristin Milioti, to the eyes of the ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' casting directors.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: Of the mistaking-fiction-for-reality variety. Because the 2 stars are 1) not professional actors, 2) are music performers/composers (like their characters), 3) composed all the songs (again, like the characters), and 4) are playing characters with NoNameGiven, many people thought this was some kind of documentary about what actually happened to Hansard and Irglova.

* SpiritualSequel: in ''TheCommitments'', Glen Hansard plays Outspan and finishes the film busking on the streets of Dublin. Cut forward twenty years and Glen Hansard stars in film which opens with his character... busking on the streets of Dublin. Bonus points due the fact that his character in ''Once'' isn't named.

Almost missed its Oscar due to the fact that parts of the soundtrack, including the winning song, were released on other albums by the same artists prior to the film being released. It was decided to give them their nomination (and inevitable award) anyway since though it technically broke the rules, the film had been in the can over two years by the time it was released, and Oscar glory had been completely outside their expectations. But let it be understood on no uncertain terms, this was far and away the favorite song of the year.

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: The Girl, probably due to the fact that it would be tough to make the painfully shy characterization from the film work well on stage.

* GreekChorus: actors who aren't currently playing named characters (or characters with an identity, given that the male and female leads don't have names) take on this role in the meantime.

* MayDecemberRomance: A subtler version in that Guy is clearly older than Girl, but their ages are not specified.

* UsefulNotes/TheNewIrish: Girl is a Czech immigrant in Dublin, no doubt to take advantage of the freedom of movement and labor after the Czech Republic joined the EU in 2004.

* [[spoiler:BittersweetEnding: Because the Guy DidNotGetTheGirl]].

* [[spoiler: DidNotGetTheGirl: Contrary to what is expected of quirky romances, Girl remains faithful to her estranged husband (who returns by the end of the film), and Guy leaves on a jet plane to win back his ex-girlfriend]].

* [[spoiler:RaceForYourLove: Guy searches for Girl before he leaves for his flight to say his goodbyes, but ultimately cannot find her. Instead, he sends her a piano, which is what she has always wanted]].

* TheCastShowoff: Not just singing, but also composing. Nearly all of the songs were composed by the two stars. Hansard wrote 7 of the songs (8 if you count "Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy"), Irglova wrote two, and two Hansard and Irglova composed together. "Falling Slowly" is the only song they both composed together and sang together in the film.
** The lead singer of "Gold" in this film is also its composer, Fergus O'Farrell.

* EnforcedMethodActing: The scene when Girl tells Guy [[spoiler: "I love you" in unsubtitled Czech]] was ad-libbed. Guy's look of confusion is genuine.
** The opening chase scene also qualifies; they shot without permits, so when the heroin addict runs off with Guy's money, a pedestrian wound up injuring the actor by trying to stop what he thought was an actual robbery.

* MayDecemberRomance: At the time of filming, Hansard was twice Irglová's age.

* RealitySubtext / RomanceOnTheSet: Hansard and Irglová were indeed [[IncrediblyLamePun falling slowly]].
** They didn't last as a couple. They broke up in 2008 while touring as The Swell Season, although they remain friends. Their 2009 album ''Strict Joy'' is about the end of their romantic relationship.

* ThrowItIn: "Broken-Hearted Hoover-Fixer Sucker Guy" was just Glen Hansard goofing off between takes. Much to his surprise, it wound up in the final cut -- and the soundtrack.
** Irglová's line, where she says [[spoiler:"No, I love you,"]] in Czech, was also an ad-lib, and Hansard's look of confusion is genuine.

* WhatMightHaveBeen: Creator/CillianMurphy was originally slated to play the Guy and the Girl was supposed to be a little older than him. But John Carney had trouble finding an Eastern European singer/actress of the right age, so Glen Hansard (hired to provide the songs and anecdotes on being a busker) suggested Irglova (whom he was just starting to collaborate with). But when she was cast, Murphy backed out of co-starring with an unknown non-actor, so in desperation, Carney asked Hansard to play the Guy.

''Once'' is a low-budget Irish movie about two musicians (Glen Hansard of The Frames and collaborator Markéta Irglová) who meet by chance and develop a relationship while writing and recording songs together. The film was made for €130,000 ($160,000 USD) and received significant critical acclaim for both its understated romance and for its music (no surprise, since Hansard and Irglová are professional musicians, not actors). The song "Falling Slowly" won the AcademyAward for Best Song.

* UsefulNotes/TheNewIrish

* WhatMightHaveBeen: CillianMurphy was originally slated to play the Guy and the Girl was supposed to be a little older than him. But John Carney had trouble finding an Eastern European singer/actress of the right age, so Glen Hansard (hired to provide the songs and anecdotes on being a busker) suggested Irglova (whom he was just starting to collaborate with). But when she was cast, Murphy backed out of co-starring with an unknown non-actor, so in desperation, Carney asked Hansard to play the Guy.

* TheCastShowOff: To an even greater extent than the movie, because ''there is no orchestra''. Every actor also provides musical accompaniment. Sometimes they even do it in-character.

* ScreenToStageAdaptation: winning a bunch of awards, providing the setting to one of Creator/NeilPatrickHarris's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=danBaPWT09A Tony Award]] openers, and bringing the original Broadway Girl, Cristin Milioti, to the eyes of the ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' casting directors.

* TranslationConvention: When two Czech characters talk privately, they speak English while Czech subtitles are projected above the stage. This later becomes a ChekhovsGun during the BilingualBonus scene mentioned above, where when she says [[spoiler:I love you]] to Guy in Czech, it is subtitled in English.

* EnforcedMethodActing: The final scene when Girl tells Guy [[spoiler: "I love you" in unsubtitled Czech]] was ad-libbed. Guy's look of confusion is genuine.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: Of the mistaking-fiction-for-reality variety. Because the 2 stars are 1)not professional actors, 2)are music performers/composers (like their characters), 3)composed all the songs (again, like the characters), and 4)are playing characters with NoNameGiven, many people thought this was some kind of documentary about what actually happened to Hansard and Irglova.

* TheCastShowoff: Not just singing, but also composing. Nearly all of the songs were composed by the two stars. Hansard wrote 7 of the songs (8 if you count "Broken Haerted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy"), Irglova wrote two, and two Hansard and Irglova composed together. "Falling Slowly" is the only song they both composed together and sang together in the film.

The film was adapted into a stage musical in early 2012, and holds the distinction of being the first musical ever to have a Broadway run scheduled before it had even opened Off-Broadway. The show opened on March 18 to fantastic reviews, with most critics praising it for keeping to the spirit of the film while making the proper changes to make it work on-stage. It won eight Tony Awards out of eleven nominations, including Best Actor In A Leading Role (Steve Kazee), Best Book, and Best Musical. A US Touring production was announced and the show opened in Dublin, and later, the West End in 2013.

The film was adapted into a stage musical in early 2012, and holds the distinction of being the first musical ever to have a Broadway run scheduled before it had even opened Off-Broadway. The show opened on March 18 to fantastic reviews, with most critics praising it for keeping to the spirit of the film while making the proper changes to make it work on-stage. It won eight Tony Awards out of eleven nominations, including Best Actor In A Leading Role, Best Book, and Best Musical.