Inni

The soul-stirring fusion of joy and heartache that burns like a current through the music of Sigur Rós comes through loud and clear in Inni, the second concert film built around the massively popular Icelandic combo. Whereas 2007’s well-travelled Heima revelled in scenic color imagery of the artists’ homeland, this minimalist item strips the band down to its output, fashioning black-and-white performance footage into a uniquely spellbinding experience. 

 

Filmed during Sigur Rós’ November 2008 performances at London’s Alexandra Palace by French-Canadian filmmaker Vincent Morisset (who works extensively with Arcade Fire), Inni is shot in rough, high-contrast monochrome HD that almost encourages one to take the film in through closed eyes. Abstraction is the right approach for a group whose work is by turns soaring, bombastic, magisterial and unfathomable (the lyrics blur Icelandic with made-up tongue Hopelandic), ushering the listener into a state of near-celestial rapture.