Screaming Masterpiece
Starring: Bjork, Sigur Ros, Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson, Steindor Andersen
Director: Ari Alexander Ergis Magnusson
The film: Screaming Masterpiece could be a very useful general survey of contemporary Icelandic music. For 85 minutes, director Ari Alexander Ergis Magnusson conjures performances and interviews from 28 acts, past and present. The documentary's initial sequence highlights the variety that is to follow, from Steindor Andersen unleashing his rimur - the chant of epic Icelandic poetry - to a barren landscape of glaciers, Sigur Ros performing in New York, and finally, punk-noise combo Minus letting loose at a small, sweaty joint in Reykjavik.
Despite many exciting performances, Screaming Masterpiece lacks the rigour to discern the social and cultural influences that might shape one of the world's most tightly knit and idiosyncratic communities.
Some of Magnusson's observations focus on the stifling seclusion of the country - according to the documentary, this is a place where the president would host a pop gig in his official residence - and in nearly every interview musicians bemoan how they work without expectations of reaching a wider audience.