We haven’t reported much, or at all on Neil Jordan’s “Ondine,” because it was off our radar, frankly (so many movies, so little time).
Well, now it’s officially on our scopes and apologies to Jordan for being so late to the party.
The intriguing entry point to the conversation for us is the fact that Sigur Rós’ ethereal keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson is composing the score, a few of the group’s songs will also be featured in the picture. Those familiar with Rós’ material and their heavenly somnambulist qualities will be incredibly pleased to hear this. Those already aware of the film’s concept know this sounds utterly perfect for the material, and it makes us finally anticipate this film we honestly didn’t know a whole lot about until now.
Despite their vow to remain incredibly picky about their film choices, the Icelandic post-rocker in Sigur Rós’ already cinematic-friendly music has been featured in films like “Vanilla Sky,” “Mysterious Skin,” “The Life Aquatic” and a whole ton of trailers.
Jordan has already played with supernatural themes in his work (“In Dreams,” “Interview with the Vampire”) and “Ondine” sounds very much in that vein with a fairytale like aspect centering around a sea nymph. The film stars Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Stephen Rea, and Alison Barry. Here’s the synopsis:
” ‘Ondine’ is a tale about hope, love and the value of believing in magic. It tells the story of Syracuse, a local fisherman (Farrell) whose everyday life is transformed by a beautiful and mysterious woman (Bachleda), whom he fishes from the sea and who his young daughter believes is a mermaid. But as in all fairytales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand.”
Magical sea nymphs, elegiac and womb-like Sigur Ros-like music? Call it a match made in heaven and wise of Jordan to enlist Sveinsson. “Ondine” is expected sometime mid-2009. [Sigur Ros va PFM]
Here’s the Sigur Ros track “Hoppipolla” from the album Takk.
