Fans of the 2006 indie winner Once were completely enchanted with the romance of the movie's stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Then came the fairy tale triumph at the Academy Awards for their melodic and exquisitely performed ballad "Falling Slowly." Millions around the world were thrilled with Marketa's heartfelt acceptance speech. After such public exposure, they had no choice but to go on a world tour and test the waters for their future endeavors.

In the opening scene of this documentary about that tour, Marketa is giving Glen a haircut and they seem to be very happy with each other and their good fortune. He says, "It's a great life we have, isn't it" Yes, there are very few people who get to express themselves and do what comes from their passion. As a sign of their enchantment with each other, they are willing to run naked into the surf.

On the road in America, they both seem uneasy with the rigors of performing in one city after another with their band. Marketa just can't get used to having her photo taken with adoring fans who besiege them at every stop. In flashbacks to Ireland, we see the couple visiting his mother who just can't get enough of her gifted son's fame. She says how proud she is of him and his father, an alcoholic, chimes in that his boy did it all for him. Such talk unsettles Glen but it takes a while for him to let it surface.

It turns out that this young singer/songwriter had a great deal of confidence in his talent. But on the road he is decked by a feeling that he is an imposter not able to live up to what people expect of him. Instead of going with the flow of the tour, the large crowds, and the celebrity status, he begins whining and complaining. The primal screams of his ballads become cries for help and Marketa proves unequal to the task given her own struggles with the demands of publicity and the drain on her energies.

Those expecting a music documentary filled with songs similar to "Falling Slowly" will be disappointed. This is not a concert film. Instead directors Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins, and Carlo Mirabella-Davis have fashioned an unusual glimpse of the dashing of a dream under the pressures, interruptions, and emotional upheaval of life on the road. In a riveting and raw scene at an outdoor café, Marketa bares her feelings about Glen's inability to not make each day a struggle; he, in turn, laments her refusal to understand what he is going through and support him 100 percent. This scene is a foreshadowing of their eventual breakup as a couple and as performers. Both are now touring separately.

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