Sigur Rós: The Valtari
Experiment
(Various, 120 min[ish])
Dir. Nick Abrahams; Arni & Kinski; Ramin Bahrani; Melika
Bass; Inga Birgisdóttir; Ruslan Fedotow; Björn Flóki; Alma Har'el; Ragnar
Kjartansson; Clare Langan; Christian Larson; Henry Jun Wah Lee; Anafelle Liu,
Dio Lau and Ken Ngan; Dash Shaw, Floria Sigismondi.
I’m beginning to think that the anthology film, particularly the
music anthology film, is a cinematic novelty that should soon die. Collections
of various shorts can unite filmmakers from across the globe in an artistic
exercise in the shared cinematic language, but they can deter audiences who
spot art when it’s made for its own sake. Sigur Rós’s Valtari Experiment, dripping in pretension and wanting for
inspiration, commits the latter offense. This musical misfire could be the proverbial nail
in the coffin for Vimeo playlists masquerading as a cinematic experience.
The project backfires, though, because it suggests that the
music of Sigur Rós is rather uninspiring. I often like the band’s eclectic
contemporary vibes, especially when it’s used in films, so Valtari disappoints with how little the filmmakers evoke feeling or
excite the senses. In spite of some formal variation, many of the shorts are
limited to a range of two ideas: roughly half of them depict people writhing
naked, while another chunk of the films are meandering shots of nature. Some of
them have people writhing naked in nature if the filmmaker chose to double dip.
Many of the shorts are forgettable. For example, did the
Floria Sigismondi film even play during the screening? (I don’t recall seeing a
film with John Hawkes and Elle Fanning.) Many of the other films blur together or
are eclipsed by similar, but stronger, films.
 |
| Fjögur Píanó |
The dunce cap for Valtari
goes to the lesser of the “writhing naked” films, Alma Har'el’s “Fjögur Píanó,”
which sees Shia LaBeouf jump around in the buff and pound some butterflies with
his fists. “Píanó” is the only moment in which The Valtari Experiment borders on self-parody. It’s as if Buffalo
Bill made an audition tape for a bad Xavier Dolan movie. “Píanó” was actually
met with a “boo!” by an obnoxious moviegoer during the Ottawa screening, but
she might have best joined the patrons who were fleeing for the exits as if
somebody yelled “Fire!”
There are, however, a few standouts among the pack that are
worth the experience, such as the animated long take by Inga Birgisdóttir and
the humorous Heimlich instructional video by Ragnar Kjartansson. Especially
good is the creative odyssey through a forest by Nick Abrahams, which stars a
talking snail and a cute little fox.
 |
| Valtari |
Best in the bunch is Christian Larson’s evocative
contemporary dance number set to the title track “Valtari.” “Valtari” sees two
dancers intertwine in a carnal kaleidoscope of bodily entanglement that twists
and turns in sync to the hypnotic beat of the music. It might actually be the
only short in the experiment to incorporate the music within the character of
the film.
The ultimate downfall of The
Valtari Experiment is that the music of Sigur Rós eventually appears to be
irrelevant. The films could easily be paired with anything from death metal to
Willie Nelson and the result might not be much different. Similarly, it seems
that virtually no effort was made in preproduction to distribute the playlist
accordingly since tracks repeat themselves, with “Varúð” winning the contest
with three plays. Valtari, the album,
actually contains a mere eight tracks, so the experiment might have felt less
redundant if it only had eight films.
Flaws in filmmaking and artistic inspiration aside, though, Valtari could nevertheless create an
artsy groove for Sigur Rós fans if viewed in a unique setting. The band’s notes
for the experiment say that Valtari was
to screen in mostly avant-garde venues, as opposed to the conventional
screening it enjoyed in Ottawa. Rather than watch it in a crowded theatre, the
strange experiment could bring out the full experience if enjoyed in, say, an
art gallery, a nightclub, or a warehouse and in turn by enhanced by
interactivity, alcohol, and/or hallucinogenic drugs. The playlist is online, so
test it out for yourself and boo Shia LaBeouf if the setting warrants it.
Sigur Rós: The Valtari Experiment screened in Ottawa at the Canadian Film Institute.