The film Once quickly became one of my favorite movies of all time, even though I’m still not quite sure how I even found out about it (this was about 2 years or so ago). The music by Glen Hansard is absolutely breathtaking, and the story is incredible. It’s worth watching for the music alone, but trust me the entire movie is beautiful.

That said, to find out John Carney (who wrote and directed Once) also wrote and directed Begin Again sealed the deal, I knew I was going to watch it.

Begin Again stars Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley and Adam Levine (Maroon 5, The Voice) and like Once is a story about music, relationships and navigating the highs and lows in life.

The music is enjoyable, the story is heartwarming and the acting is quite wonderful throughout. I love the setting (New York just happens to be my favorite city in the world) and again the music is just as great as the city. I highly encourage you to see Begin Again if you loved Once, and if you haven’t seen either I recommend you see both as soon as possible.