I’ve been loving Sigur Rós‘ ongoing short film project which they set up several months ago as part of the promotion for their latest masterwork album Valtari. Entitled The Valtari Mystery Film Experiment, the band has been hiring several different directors whom they admire to direct short films to accompany the songs on the album. The latest one is for the title track “Valtari” and was written and directed by Christian Larson.
Living in Montreal I am exposed to a huge variety of modern dance — some of the best in the world as a matter of fact. I’ve experienced more of these shows than I can remember, and I can say without a doubt that my respect for modern dance is minimal — to say the least. I have always found it to be one of the most hermetic art forms in the sense that even though the dancer is overcome with a transformative experience, the communication of that experience to the viewer is weak at best — like the worst wi-fi connection on Earth. I nearly walked out of the documentary Pina when it premiered here in Montreal last year I was so furious.
Then late last night I happened to watch Larson’s video for “Valtari” and a lighting flash went off in my head that suddenly changed everything I had ever thought about modern dance. This short film is so exquisite I might just have to take back every negative comment I’ve ever made about the art form. It’s almost hard to say which is more impressive here: the dancers or the choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. The cinematography by Mattias Montero is also gorgeous. An amazing job all around, and not only am I inspired to run out and give modern dance another try, but I’m definitely going to be kicking my butt a little harder in the gym today.
If you haven’t yet grabbed your copy of Sigur Rós’s must-have Valtari you can head over to iTunes, and be sure to watch the other beautiful video from the Valtari Mystery Film Experiment by CLICKING HERE. For all FEELguide stories related to Sigur Rós CLICK HERE. And to learn more about director Christian Larson be sure to visit ChristianLarson.com.
