Saturday, March 8, 2008

sigur ros heima

heima = home.



here is an extraordinary opportunity to view a major work by a talented band.

heima is sigur rós's first ever film, filmed over two weeks during the summer of 2006 when the band undertook a series of free, unannounced concerts in iceland. they hauled 40-plus people round 15 locations to the furthest flung corners of their homeland for their debut venture into live film.

on their way they went to ghost towns, outsider art shrines, national parks, small community halls and the absolute middle-of-nowhere-ness of the highland wilderness, as well as playing the largest gig of their career (and in icelandic history) at their homecoming reykjavik show.

'heima' (icelandic for "at home" or "homeland"), truly, shows sigur rós as never before. whereas seeing the group live is normally a large-scale and sometimes overwhelming experience, making full use of lights and mesmeric visuals, 'heima' was always intended to reveal more of what was actually going on on stage. it does this via long-held close-ups and a rare intimate proximity, without ever once breaking the spell.

loosely based on a documentary format - and including personal reflections from the band - 'heima' also serves as an alternative primer for iceland the country, which is revealed as less destination-du-jour and more a desolate, magical place where human beings have little right to trespass.

'heima' features performances of songs from all four sigur rós albums, many radically reworked, as well as two exclusive new songs in 'guitardjamm', which was filmed inside an abandoned herring oil tank in the far west of the country, and the traditional 'a ferd til breidarfjardar 1922', performed with poet steindor  andersen.

'heima' was directed by dean deblois.



if you would like to own a copy of this incredible documentary, you can get it here.

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