Silverdocs - The Swell Season

The Silverdocs Film Festival opening night featured a documentary about one of my favorite bands, The Swell Season. The black and white film followed Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova on tour, with the primary storyline being their romantic relationship: how they met, how they got together after Once, and the trials and tribulations of being in a relationship with your business partner, especially if you and your business partner are famous.

Normally I would say that to do a documentary in black and white in this day and age is pretentious, but it really fit the tone of the film, the tone of their music, and the tone of Glen and Marketa as characters. They're both really sort of quiet and contemplative and the black and white gives the film a sort of muted, hushed feeling. It's a sad film, or bittersweet at the very least because (SPOILER ALERT) they don't end up together in the end. Well, that's not really a spoiler because if you're fans of them, you probably already knew that. I knew it going into the film but I definitely still cried when they split up. A lot. But the film gives a lovely inside look at this very talented duo and their lives on the road. The film also uses their beautiful music to augment the story very well in the film. A must-see for any Swell Season fan, and for any music lover in general.