Touches You

A different way of telling a story

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Blistering performances.

The music Home Video has been around for a while now. A couple of older ones that come to mind are 'The Dead Kennedys-The Early Years' and 'Panteras-3 Vulgar Videos From Hell' (which is a collection of their three home videos. There's also 'koRn's-Who Then Now', and whilst I'm not really into korn anymore, back in high school....I watched this a lot. lol.There are also live releases, from pink floyd, or from festivals like, the sounds from the underground DVD's. The home videos are more about, day to day life of the bands, how they got together, it shows the bandmembers personalities etc etc. And the live releases are usually live shows, with video tour diary segments spliced in between.Some bands on the other hand just have DVD releases which are just slapped together. There're just MEHHH basically. But with Heima, Sigur Ros' add the music DVD as the 4th (true) artistic output bands have. So there's the LIVE show, the album (as a whole album, and inclusive of the artwork), the videoclips (even though only a few bands really make artistic clips), and now the music DVD.Heima is a beautiful film in it's own right. Not just changing between clips of Sigur Ros' playing live, and shots of Iceland at random. But thoughtfully and meticulously planned out, the visuals heighten the already extreme emotions that Sigur Ros bring about through their music.For fans and n00bs alike. Heima should be seen by all.10/10

After completing a 13-month world tour in which they promoted their fourth album, the rock-oriented "Takk", the band Sigur Ros came home to Iceland in the summer of 2006 to give free concerts as a sign of their gratitude to Iceland. Director Dean DeBlois (Lilo and Stich) was there to film them as they toured the stark, almost alien-looking landscape, performing a series of mostly unannounced concerts in a variety of locales throughout the country. There was an abandoned fishing town, a mountain foothill, a camp where locals are protesting the building of a dam, a wilderness outpost, a national park, a community coffee shop, and a large convert venue in Reykjavik which if course had been announced.The result is a 97-minute documentary called Heima, which means "at home" or "homeland". The film features gorgeous photography of the country's mountains, rivers, valleys, and waterfalls as background for live performances of songs from all four Sigur Ros albums, as well as two two new songs: "Guitardjamm," and "A ferd til Breidarfjardar 1922," performed with poet Steindor Anderson. Though there are interviews in the film with the unassuming band members whose recordings sell in the millions, they are not very revealing. What does come across, however, is their humility, love of nature, and opposition to the exploitation of their land by global corporations. While I would have liked to have learned more about each member, this is not a film about the psychology of the band members or why they have been successful, but a celebration of the group's elegant and hypnotic music and their love letter to the people of Iceland.Formed in the late 1990's, the band consists of singer-guitarist Jon Thor "Jonsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg "Goggi" Holm, keyboard player Kjartan "Kjarri" Sveinsson and percussionist Orri Pall together with backup musicians. They are distinguished by experimental cutting edge songs lasting between six and thirteen minutes, enhanced by the otherworldly sound of Jonsi's falsetto voice. Their music has been called "glacial", "post-rock" and "transcendent". Whatever the label, their sounds have a way of penetrating your outer shell and reaching deeply into your soul.Those that came to see the concerts were not the usual excited young people that you might expect at rock concerts, but folks of all ages including families with their children. The band's connection with their audience is very real and the concerts have a feeling of warmth and intimacy. Simply listening to the ethereal music of Sigur Ros is a revelation but seeing them on the big screen performing their music in their native country is a spiritual experience. If you are a lover of Sigur Ros, this is a must see. If you are not, Heima may make you one.

What a country and what a band.....I had the chance to travel to Iceland in September 2007. This DVD is a 'scrapbook' of my trip to Iceland. The music, the people, the food and the feeling of purity.....Everything is there...If it gives some of you the urge to go there...well do it....don't wait...If you are an outdoor lover and a spiritual being...you'll find something out there for you.... Bravo to my Canadian friend who produces this DVD....It does resembles the people, their reserved personalities and their openness to much more. This is a great discovery for me and I thank all of you for offering this as a Xmas present from me to me!

In the summer of 2006 (although you'd never know being in Iceland!) local heroes Sigur Ros returned to their 'Heima' or homeland to put on a series of free and unusual shows. Firstly they wanted to give a gift to the people of Iceland, it seems that very little ever happens in this barren land, and secondly they wanted to take the music back to where it originated. If you have ever heard a Sigur Ros album you will know it's a beautiful, sweeping, moving and often a sparse affair much like the land it came from. It is at times harsh, cold and jarring like the countryside and its elements but at other times it is warm, different and special like the country and its people. With varying crew sizes they play a series of gigs from an abandoned hillside cottage to a dam protest site, a volcanic ash plain and haunting disused fishing factory to name but a few and ending in the most attended show in the country's capital Reykjavik. Peppered with interviews from the bands main and secondary members the film isn't just a live showcase and at times has some startling natural and artistic visuals to accompany the incredible music. Whether you are a fan of the band or just looking to see a great music film you can't go far wrong with this movie it is an audiovisual experience unrivalled in its approach to the band and their roots. I always said that Sigur Ros' music should soundtrack a film and now it does their own.