The world fell in love with musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova when their tiny indie romance film "Once" became a world wide hit. That adulation was fed further when they won the Oscar for best song – and gave endearing thank you speeches. And the icing on the cake was when we all learned this lovable and appealing duo were now a real life couple, not just a movie one."The Swell Season" follows their 2 year American tour after winning the Oscar. Shot in lovely black and white it captures fragments of terrific musical performances, snippets of life on the road, and pieces of the difficult and choppy real-life waters this seemingly fairy-tale couple went through. The weight of career, fame and – perhaps most importantly – the much younger Ms. Irglova's need to start to be her own person with her own way of seeing and reacting to the world all puts their relationship to a severe test.At the same time, the film gives us a lot of Mr. Hansard's back-story in some amazing scenes where he talks with his alternately funny and creepily fame obsessed mother, and heartbreaking alcoholic ex-boxer father.All these elements are always interesting and often arresting. But for me the film is good, but not quite great, because each of these elements feels just a little incomplete, a little cut short, a little cheated.Their music and performances are terrific, but songs are never allowed to be finished; often we get just a verse and a chorus before cutting away. The 'life-on-the-road elements are so brief they end up feeling familiar from other docs about musicians.The character study element is very strong, but both one sided (we learn far, far less about Ms. Irglova than Mr. Hansard), and frustrating when we get highlights and striking moments instead of depth.And the strongest part of the film – a very intimate look at the battle of a complex relationship to thrive (or even survive) as the people evolve, and the pressures on them grow suffers from having the process and role of time jumped over.Any one of these threads could have been a terrific film. I could easily have been thrilled by a simple, wonderfully short concert film, or a portrait of what drives an artist, or the study of a rich and sad relationship being rocked to it's core. But all three, plus an 'on the road' music doc sharing 88 minutes mean each of these worlds only get - at best - 20 minutes each – just not enough to get nearly as far into any one story element as I would have liked.Still very worth seeing, especially if you liked 'Once' (without that you might feel a bit lost about just who these people ARE). There are great and indelible moments. I just wish the whole wasn't somehow a little lesser than the sum of it's parts.

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.

then you may be interested in seeing this. I had not seen "Once" and went to see this on a whim. It was a one-night-only engagement, and now I know why - it doesn't have the legs to sustain interest among a general audience. The only viewers who could possibly be interested in this are those who saw the film "Once". If you have not seen that, you'd best not bother seeing this. It is like watching the second half of a film when you have missed the first part. Nothing shown here made me care about either of the characters, both of whom I found self-absorbed.More surprising was the utter lack of significant talent exhibited by Glen Hansard. He was mostly shown screaming out tuneless ditties while furiously strumming his guitar like a maniac. What the heck is that about? The film seemed to mostly focus on him and his story, while Marketa's story and performances were secondary. A mistake, since she at least appears to be able to write a listenable tune.

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.