9) Once
Once is the only movie I can think of that essentially won an Academy Award for a single scene. And it was undoubtedly well deserved. I’ve read interviews with Richard Linklater describing his motivation for making Before Sunrise, that it was his attempt, being inspired by his own experience, to capture the feeling of a deep connection with a person you’ve just met. He spent an entire movie on depicting the series of moments that can generate this powerful feeling in two people, and then two more movies further exploring the implications of pursuing that feeling. Director John Carney along with collaborating players Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova accomplishes this over the course of one scene, and one film.
The moment and scene comes during the second encounter between the nameless Guy and Girl characters. Leading up to their walk to the local music store, there isn’t a lot to latch onto in the movie; we’re introduced to each of the characters, focusing more on the Guy, and they don’t leave the strongest of impressions. He seems reasonably interesting, and their first encounter feels authentic. Then they travel to the music store, and start playing together, and it produces some sort of magic.
We don’t fully understand the emotions they’re feeling in that moment just yet, though we learn more later about what they may have been reacting to then. The music they make together is the kind that you immediately recognize as inspired, and for the first time the movie feels like it’s bursting with life. It may be something of a metaphor for the movie’s setting, or for musicians in general, or for the personal connection it depicts—that beneath a drab surface is a colorful and beautiful sound waiting to emerge. The glow from this scene can’t help but still over into the remainder of the film.