HEIMA

I remember I saw some reviews on Finnish papers that praised this as a totally groundbreaking and beautiful music film. In a way it's true that there haven't been - as far as I know - music DVD's quite like this one, but it doesn't mean it would be so wonderful viewing experience. I haven't listened to this Icelandic post-rock band very much, but I imagine that their cinematic music can provoke a lot of inner pictures to the listener's mind. In that sense it can be sort of anti-climactic to enjoy this music accompanied by a film, which, in the end, is very down-to-earth in nature. I liked the film all right, but maybe I was expecting something better after the reviews.

On the other hand, it's exactly that honesty (loss of ambitious effort to make something extraordinary and imaginary) that makes the film such warm-spirited and friendly and authentic. By the way, I'm concentrating on Disc One, not Disc Two which is a more traditional concert DVD. The key word is: Iceland. I guess the title Heima means homeland which at least would fit this perfectly. A big deal of the Heima movie is outdoors. Even when it shows the band playing. When they make their highly original music on the frontyard of some abandoned(?) country home, they are more like meditators than rock musicians.

The film includes short bits of interviews, ie. the band members speaking of their music, but they sink very well into the nature-oriented whole without breaking the spirit. Maybe because they seem so shy and far from rock star appearances, again. In general, there's not much talking (and this describes the music as well: even if you understood the language, the singing is used in a very instrumental way). And yet the film's not only about the nature of the country, it's also about its people. Ordinary folk gathering to a free outdoor concert (note how many small children!), queueing for lunch, etc. But to point out the everyday nature of it all is not quite true either. For example we see men making music instruments out of rocks and other natural things.

So, if you are interested in Iceland, you should see this film. And for a band fan this is a must. But to me it wasn't anything I would later return to; I was satisfied to borrow this from my library and view it just once (with some yawning too, to be honest). The package includes also a thick book of photos but nothing very interesting in them.