Ondine: Strange people that come out of the water

I'll be honest, the only reason I watched Ondine was because one quarter of Sigur Rós composed the score. Which is probably a good enough reason to watch anything. If the other bits turn out to be good as well it'll be a bonus. So, an Irish fisherman catches a woman in his net and becomes convinced that she might be a bit mystical. His daughter thinks he's found a selkie, a sort of lady seal creature who can become temporarily human. When her singing starts bringing the fisherman luck, it seems that she might be right. But this is a film set in the real world. It asks how long the fantasy can be kept up, if it's real or just imagined. The woman doesn't want to confirm it either way, and does a lot of singing and floating around in the water. Ondine is a nice little film that spends most of it's time in the calm Irish countryside. It's gentle and funny and a little bit sleepy. There's a downbeat realism to it that stops it from getting too sugary, and Colin Farrell is likable enough to play the kind but slightly rubbish fisherman. It's the possibility of magic in a contemporary setting that keeps it interesting, and eventually a warming to the characters to see it through to the end.

And there's a few Sigur Rós songs as well. Apart from the new stuff, Kjartan Sveinsson added some familiar tunes. One song in particular plays an important part in the plot. Ondine sings it to the fishes, while being all mystical and mysterious. After all, what else would mermaids sing? The fisherman thinks it's a magical sound, proof of her being from another world. Then Sigur Rós appear on TV singing it, making him wonder if it really is a selkie song. 'That song, it's real', 'Of course it's real, it's Sigur Rós' - this is good dialogue. A film that hinges on a Sigur Rós song? This can only be a good thing.