Heima
Friday night I found myself standing in line and freezing my bloody ass off with my sister and her friend Steve. The reason? As a birthday present, my sister picked up a ticket for me for the first Canadian screening of the much much praised and anticipated music doc Heima by Sigur Ros. Meaning "at home" or "homeland" in Icelandic, Heima is a film documenting their 2006 summer tour, marking their triumphant return to Iceland. Playing unannounced free shows in some of the most populous and also in some of the most remote places in Iceland-- they wanted to give a back to the nation who had shaped both them and their music.
I guess I've never quite known how popular the band actually is, but what I do know for certain is that they are a particular favourite of ours. Despite the freezing cold, looking at the number of people in line to see the movie, and the other significantly longer line of people hoping to get an abandoned ticket showed how large their following is in Toronto at least. I started to listen to Sigur Ros in high school, not sure how I came about to discover them, but I fell in love with not only the organicism of their sound, but also the band itself-- a group of 4 humble young men from Iceland. Their sole purpose was to make music and as a side effect a great deal of fame came their way.
Within the first few minutes of the film, I instantly felt like it was the year 2000 and I was sitting in Massey Hall watching them live in concert for the very first time. We were all entranced with their music-- no one uttered a sound, no cell phone went off, and everybody's undivided attention was directed at the stage. Only this time, everybody's attention was directed at a screen eagerly watching a film that captured every essence of the band's desire and joy in touring their homeland.
If you've never heard of the band Sigur Ros, or of the film Heima, I strongly strongly suggest you go and watch it. It's filled with some of the most beautiful and breath taking images you will ever see. Perhaps I'm biased because so much of it looks like Newfoundland? From glaciers, to mountains, and the rolling ocean waves hitting the dark sands of the coast, I almost expected to feel the cool breeze and to taste the salt air. Overlaid with the unearthly sounds of Sigur Ros, much of the film gives you a sense of the forbidding nature of the raw and untouched land, while visits to the remote parts of the island either leave you with a haunting feeling of sadness when they play in abandoned spots, or an innate sense of togetherness when communities spanning generations come together to see Sigur Ros play live.
So much of Iceland reminds me of Newfoundland that I'm almost convinced Heima is for me too.
I guess I've never quite known how popular the band actually is, but what I do know for certain is that they are a particular favourite of ours. Despite the freezing cold, looking at the number of people in line to see the movie, and the other significantly longer line of people hoping to get an abandoned ticket showed how large their following is in Toronto at least. I started to listen to Sigur Ros in high school, not sure how I came about to discover them, but I fell in love with not only the organicism of their sound, but also the band itself-- a group of 4 humble young men from Iceland. Their sole purpose was to make music and as a side effect a great deal of fame came their way.
Within the first few minutes of the film, I instantly felt like it was the year 2000 and I was sitting in Massey Hall watching them live in concert for the very first time. We were all entranced with their music-- no one uttered a sound, no cell phone went off, and everybody's undivided attention was directed at the stage. Only this time, everybody's attention was directed at a screen eagerly watching a film that captured every essence of the band's desire and joy in touring their homeland.
If you've never heard of the band Sigur Ros, or of the film Heima, I strongly strongly suggest you go and watch it. It's filled with some of the most beautiful and breath taking images you will ever see. Perhaps I'm biased because so much of it looks like Newfoundland? From glaciers, to mountains, and the rolling ocean waves hitting the dark sands of the coast, I almost expected to feel the cool breeze and to taste the salt air. Overlaid with the unearthly sounds of Sigur Ros, much of the film gives you a sense of the forbidding nature of the raw and untouched land, while visits to the remote parts of the island either leave you with a haunting feeling of sadness when they play in abandoned spots, or an innate sense of togetherness when communities spanning generations come together to see Sigur Ros play live.
So much of Iceland reminds me of Newfoundland that I'm almost convinced Heima is for me too.
posted by Miss Pow @ 12:24 a.m.
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