SIGUR ROS | FJÖGUR PÍANÓ

Containing the same truthful fusion of fantasy and reality as found in her documentary Bombay Beach, filmmaker Alma Har’el’s latest work is a provocative and dramatically compelling short film for the Icelandic band Sigur Ros, made as part of the group’s . For the Project, the band invited a dozen filmmakers to select a track from their new album, Valtari, gave them the same modest budget, and told them to do what they saw in their heads. “The idea is to bypass the usual artistic approval process and allow people utmost creative freedom,” they wrote on their site.

In the case of Har’el, the result is “Fjögur Píanó,” a wildly ambitious emotional journey in which a couple — Shia LaBeouf and Denna Thomsen — passes through all the stages of a relationship amidst imagery ranging from psychedelic drug trips to a room decorated with butterflies. And, of course, there’s dance, as there was in Bombay Beach, with the couples’ shifting relationship beautifully charted by the shifting of their bodies. Har’el was selected this past year as one of our 25 New Faces, and, more than a music video, “Fjögur Píanó” is an exciting work from one of our most spirited and innovative young directors.

– Scott Macaulay, Filmmaker Magazine