Sigur Rós: Heima

Being a fan of Sigur Rós for a while now, I was incredibly excited for 'Heima.' I didn't know what to expect of it, except that it would be moving, passionate, and that I would love it. It certainly turned out that way. They've succeeded in creating an honest and simple documentary that gave me more respect for them, if that is possible.

This film rotates around a love of music and of Home: Iceland; a simpler place than a lot of us are used to. Sigur Rós tour their home giving free concerts as a way of giving back to the land and people for what they gave them: a place of inspiration and love. They visit the most remote villages, all the way to the largest city in Iceland, Reykjavík, where it looks as if the whole country shows up for the concert.

In between songs, concerts, and interviews (The quartet Amiina also participates in the interviews), there are clips of the country and towns of Iceland. You'll see its mountains, its towns, its fish factories, and its beautiful landscape, which, in my opinion, appropriately fits the music of Sigur Rós.

There isn't too much wasted interview time, rather much of the film is spent on the crowds; their faces and their reaction to the music. My only complaint is that some of my favorite songs weren't played. Still, they couldn't have fit everything into it. There isn't a song by them I don't like, and that's a rare thing from one band. Thank you, Sigur Rós, for allowing the world to have a glimpse of yours.

What a country and what a band.....I had the chance to travel to Iceland in September 2007. This DVD is a 'scrapbook' of my trip to Iceland. The music, the people, the food and the feeling of purity.....Everything is there...If it gives some of you the urge to go there...well do it....don't wait...If you are an outdoor lover and a spiritual being...you'll find something out there for you.... Bravo to my Canadian friend who produces this DVD....It does resembles the people, their reserved personalities and their openness to much more. This is a great discovery for me and I thank all of you for offering this as a Xmas present from me to me!

The Icelandic band Sigur Ros craft otherworldly songs with lyrics drifting between their native tongue and an invented language called 'Hopelandic.' I have long found their music to be both distinctive and enjoyable but continue to harbour some unresolved feelings about the band. I find their music to be rather less subtle than post-rock contemporaries such as Mogwai and Labradford and cannot help but regard their invented lyrical language with a degree of cynicism. Being an admirer of the band but not exactly their greatest fan, I approached Heima, their feature-length film, with a little trepidation. However, I regard the film as a triumph.'Heima' is an Icelandic word for 'home' and this film is accordingly as much about Iceland as the Sigur Rose, who must surely have surpassed Bjork as their country's most famous musical export. I have myself visited Iceland to view its stunning scenery but was nevertheless left breathless by some of the cinematography in this film. The beautiful landscapes of Iceland serve as the backdrop for many of the band's songs, whilst further footage of desolate lava fields, picturesque villages and mammoth glaciers is interspersed between the performances recorded in live venues and the interviews conducted with individual band-members.Sigur Ros choose some remarkable locations in which to play their music. The band illuminate obscure corners of Iceland, most remarkably when they stage a live performance in a disused factory in an abandoned fishing town. The interviews with the band feature some frank and sometimes-humorous recollections and I found it fascinating to watch the way that Icelandic people reacted to the music being performed.The songs of Sigur Ros and the footage of Iceland combine to make this a film that is much more than a straightforward performance video. This is instead a powerful evocation of Iceland through the eyes and ears of the band. For anyone with a passing interest in Sigur Ros or in Iceland this film will be compelling viewing.

An absolute masterpiece...visually astonishing and deeply moving.

The juxtaposition of opposites is seen and heard throughout this film (ex: light and shadow, life and death, motion and stillness, perfection and imperfection, young and old) which suggests the circularity of life. Heima also presents the viewer with an all-encompassing look at the beauty of Iceland as a segment of a much larger picture, Earth.

This film is perfectly accentuated by the music of Sigur Ros as well as the free spirited attitude of the members of their band. Altogether, this film transcends the genre of music documentary (rockumentary) and takes it to an entirely new level with beauty that will bring tears to your eyes.

After completing a 13-month world tour in which they promoted their fourth album, the rock-oriented "Takk", the band Sigur Ros came home to Iceland in the summer of 2006 to give free concerts as a sign of their gratitude to Iceland. Director Dean DeBlois (Lilo and Stich) was there to film them as they toured the stark, almost alien-looking landscape, performing a series of mostly unannounced concerts in a variety of locales throughout the country. There was an abandoned fishing town, a mountain foothill, a camp where locals are protesting the building of a dam, a wilderness outpost, a national park, a community coffee shop, and a large convert venue in Reykjavik which if course had been announced.

The result is a 97-minute documentary called Heima, which means "at home" or "homeland". The film features gorgeous photography of the country's mountains, rivers, valleys, and waterfalls as background for live performances of songs from all four Sigur Ros albums, as well as two two new songs: "Guitardjamm," and "A ferd til Breidarfjardar 1922," performed with poet Steindor Anderson. Though there are interviews in the film with the unassuming band members whose recordings sell in the millions, they are not very revealing. What does come across, however, is their humility, love of nature, and opposition to the exploitation of their land by global corporations. While I would have liked to have learned more about each member, this is not a film about the psychology of the band members or why they have been successful, but a celebration of the group's elegant and hypnotic music and their love letter to the people of Iceland.

Formed in the late 1990's, the band consists of singer-guitarist Jon Thor "Jonsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg "Goggi" Holm, keyboard player Kjartan "Kjarri" Sveinsson and percussionist Orri Pall together with backup musicians. They are distinguished by experimental cutting edge songs lasting between six and thirteen minutes, enhanced by the otherworldly sound of Jonsi's falsetto voice. Their music has been called "glacial", "post-rock" and "transcendent". Whatever the label, their sounds have a way of penetrating your outer shell and reaching deeply into your soul.

Those that came to see the concerts were not the usual excited young people that you might expect at rock concerts, but folks of all ages including families with their children. The band's connection with their audience is very real and the concerts have a feeling of warmth and intimacy. Simply listening to the ethereal music of Sigur Ros is a revelation but seeing them on the big screen performing their music in their native country is a spiritual experience. If you are a lover of Sigur Ros, this is a must see. If you are not, Heima may make you one.