This past Friday, our church held two Good Friday Services. It was a very cool experience and helped prepare us all for a great Easter Weekend.
A special thanks to the folks at MTV Unplugged for the stage design. We stole the idea from the Nirvana Unplugged in New York concert (below).
Ian Curtis was 23 years old when he committed suicide on May 18, 1980. However, in his short time as the lead singer and lyricist of Joy Division, Curtis left an indelible mark on the face of music. Control, Anton Corbijn’s first feature film follows the last seven years of Curtis’ short life and the rise of Joy Division as a prolific musical force.
Shot in black and white, Mr. Corbijn’s film is touching - not in the sense that it makes you feel nice and warm…but in it’s very real portrayal of a man plagued by immense creativity and immense darkness. I really enjoyed the film - Mr. Corbijn, having known and photographed Joy Division when they first began, brings a quiet sensitivity to Curtis’ tragic life. Sam Riley (above, left) plays Curtis in such a captivating manner - you can’t get him out of your brain, even when the movie ends. The film, like Joy Division’s music, lingers with you long after it’s finished.
For a more extensive review, read A.O. Scott’s NYT article here.
At the end of the film, a man in front of me was literally weeping. That’s power in film.
As mentioned in the previous post, Saturday’s screening of Sigur Rós’ Heima was followed by a Q&A with the band, director, and producer. Like I said before, the session was close to ridiculous - both in it’s dullness and lack of intelligent questions. However, I did come away with something that helped to reframe the way I look at art, music, film, et al.
First, if you are not familiar with Sigur Rós, they are an Icelandic band that, as expected, sings in their native tongue (Icelandic). However, half, if not more, of their songs are sung with no decipherable lyrics at all. Lead singer Jón þor Birgisson uses his voice as an instrument and creates different notes, tones, sounds to couple with the rest of the music. This “Hopelandic” (as a reporter tagged it) is essentially a nothing language.
Understanding that - the following question was posed to the band:
“How do you feel that a majority of your fan base [Americans] do not understand what you are saying?”
The band, not fully understanding the question, hesitated. (At this time, most of the audience is thinking: “This guy is an idiot…doesn’t he know that the words are nonsensical?”) Finally, in broken English, Mr. Birgisson answered:
“We make music to make music. So, if you like it, you like it. If it moves you, good.”
Perhaps the only merit of what makes art or creativity good, is if it moves someone. If you hit that criteria, good.
This past weekend, I had the incredible opportunity of attending two special screenings of Sigur Rós‘ new film Heima. The first screening, held Saturday at UCLA’s John Wooden Center, was preceded by a special acoustic set with the band and followed by a one-of-a-kind Q&A. The event was for UCLA students only, with a special guest list of 50 other fans who had won tickets through the band’s website. The second screening was held on Sunday, as part this year’s AFI Fest at Hollywood’s ArcLight Theatre.
The film, a music documentary, followed the band around their native Iceland where they played free, unannounced concerts for their fellow citizens. Heima (which means “homeland”) shows the band as never before. Following a seven year, world-wide tour - the band felt led to return to their native country and give back to the people. The experiment - something quite rare in today’s world of $80 concert tickets, turned out to be quite incredible. The film captures this rare look at the cinematic and intensely creative band in amazing beauty.
A sort of “love letter” to Iceland, the band’s music is coupled with the beautiful and awe-inspiring landscape of the almost unscathed region of the world. With a look like no other place in the world, the scenery and intrigue of Iceland provide a perfect visual partner to Sigur Rós’ powerful music. The film is, well, beautiful. Words can hardly describe the visual intensity of the images and the depth of the music. For Sigur Rós fans, the film serves as a perfect “best-of” list, enhanced with images. Rather than watching a movie, I felt as though I were listening to the band with my eyes closed - as if the music they make would actually provoke the images of the screen in my very own mind. I was, at once, inspired and amazed. The sheer creativity of such a band is moving.
While Sunday’s screening at the AFI Fest was hard to improve upon - due to the ArcLight’s incredible facility with giant HD-projection screens and perfect 5.1 Dolby Digital soundsystems (it is my new favorite theatre) - it was Saturday’s screening at UCLA that was the true “once-in-a-lifetime” experience. The band’s, short but amazing, three song acoustic set was intimate and perfect. They played my favorite song, “Untitled #4 (Njósnavélin)” - I don’t know if there is any experience quite like hearing your favorite band play your favorite song in such an intimate setting - I could hardly contain myself.
Following Saturday’s screening, the band, director and producer held a special Q&A session. Now, I would be remissed if I did not mention that this time was painful. Not because the band did anything wrong, but the “Culture Committee” at UCLA allowed the students to run the session - which led to ridiculous and inane questions. I appreciated the band’s grace in sitting in through the questions - but I kept wondering how in the world anyone thought it a good idea to allow a band of such world-wide renown to do it.
The AFI Fest screening also had a Q&A - this time, with just the director. This particular Q&A was a much more insightful experience. The director, Dean DeBlois (of, strangely enough, Lilo & Stitch), has an incredible visual eye and did a great job in piecing together a series of performances into a cohesive and intriguing film.
For Sigur Rós fans, you must see this film. For those who don’t love Sigur Rós yet, see this film - it’s beauty and creativity will inspire you.
