Once

Filmed on a beach, with only three actors, and with absolutely no talking, this story centers on the conflict between the Creator, who has the power to create plants and animals, and the Destroyer, who tries but can not create life. At first the Destroyer tries to emulate the Creator, but becomes frustrated because he can't create life as the Creator does. The Destroyer vents his frustration by damaging and even killing the living things around him. Eventually, the Creator creates a woman and she becomes a pawn in the struggle with the Destroyer.

I really loved this film. The pictures were beautiful and acting convincing and understated. The metaphorical elements of the story made me ponder the depths of my personal philosophy and had me talking about the film for days. I always wondered why it didn't become a famous cult movie. I wish more people had seen it, but it didn't get any PR at all. Almost everybody will recognize the three actors. This movie is a memorable experience and I would recommend it to everybody.

Few filmmakers attempt, much less succeed, at producing a quintessentially cinematic work of art. "Once" manages to reveal the seminal forces underlying all drama by fully utilizing the powerful medium of moving pictures. There are better movies but none that I've seen that could tell so much without uttering a word of dialogue. Deep in all of us are the archetypes we can recognize in the 3 characters. If we absorb the truth that this movie attempts to reveal we would understand that what appears to be multiplicity becomes singular from a broader more enlightened perspective.

"Once" tells a fascinating story of temptation and seduction of innocence told in a most basic style but with a deeper meaning and an original point of view. Even with the narrow stage of one location (an island), three actors, and no dialogue, Once manages to create an alluring background for the exceptional pantomime and expression of the cast. Jim Malinda in the role of temptation projects his part with full energy and clarity. The chemistry of the small cast gets a grip on the emotions then takes a roller-coaster ride as the age-old story of good and evil unfolds. Once would play well in Art theatres and with cult film fans, It's the kind of movie I remember in my gut as well as my mind.

I saw this film just "once," at the World Science Fiction Convention in Kansas City in 1977. Marta Kristen was radiantly beautiful in it. I have not seen it since and consider it my "Holy Grail" of lost films. I am unaware of any video or DVD releases. It's a near-classic and deserves availability!

A picture that will be unique for all time. As timely as when it was made in 1974 and will still be timely a hundred years from now. As in the beginning of time where it starts and ends. Unique, in that cinema has not gone here before. A film of such great beauty and yet not a word of dialog with only three characters.