Vlissingen 2024 Review: ONCE AGAIN (FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME) Brims With Renewal

Boaz Yakin's Once Again (For the Very First Time) signals something of a rebirth. In it's opening moments, the protagonist falls from the heavens with bloodied clothing and lands on the doorstep of his love interest. He is a street dancer named DeRay, she's a slam poet called Naim. They express themselves and their love through their art, him with his body, she with her words. What unfolds is a story of creation and destruction, love and death, God and humanity, told through the blending of stylistically daring film scenes that put dance and poetry front and center.

It is a far cry from films like Fresh, Remember The Titans and Uptown Girls, the sort of work that filmmaker Yakin became best known for. Still, he brings some gloss and stylistic flair to these proceedings, even if the topics are more heady and the form is more challenging. Once Again (For The Very First Time) emulates a street culture approach to something like Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, trying to make a film about the grand themes of life. It succeeds better at being an American version of that classic film than City of Angels was.

What makes the film stand out is its focus on the art of the central protagonists as leading the form, instead of vice versa. This is a dance film, and a performance art film, more than a regular story. The poetry of Naima, and her rap skills, inform a lot of the dialogue choices: powerful words, almost overflowing, getting out at a rapid and cutting pace. The editing follows the rhythm.

The same is true for the camerawork. It follows the movements of DeRay and his dancing. The camera flows freely, circling around him, being locked into a frantic dance with him. This is some inspiring filmmaking, truly showing Yakin as someone who has a strict command of style, pacing and symbolism. It is hard not to see the themes of rebirth, destruction and creativity, as something that attracted him to the project. This is a former Hollywood director burning his career down, and from the ashes finding inspiration and beauty. The dichotomy of the title is apt: he may be directing once again, but this film feels alive with the spirit of something being made for the very first time. This is a reset, a renewal. It is the sort of film that is what it is about. And it couldn't be more thrilling.


(Once Again (For the Very First Time) played at Vlissingen's FILM BY THE SEA Festival, and is currently travelling the festivals circuit)