Arcade Fire: The Reflektor Tapes - Review
A couple of weeks ago, I addressed the problematic elements with concert films. In the instance I was talking about, the legendary Eric Clapton should’ve been a raucous look at his years in the music business yet felt like a dull and safe gig as though the album had sprung to life. Musicians and cinema can form bonds unlike any other, and they should; exploring the undeniable relationship between evocative imagery and alluring tunes. Music concerts seem to be a thing nowadays because of the rising price of tickets and the ease of just going to the cinema (plus the lack of sweaty people in your face singing out of tune in your ear is a plus).
Anyway, my point is - musicians have to step up with their concerts on film which is exactly what Arcade Fire’s The Reflektor Tapes does. Only this has gone to another extreme where the experimental aesthetics shifts the focus of the music and becomes delirious in its imagery. The movie follows the husband and wife combination Win Buter and Regine Chassagne who lead the titular band. It focuses on their work of The Reflecktor Tapes album, intersplicing behind the scenes footage with their performances too.
Ok, so the Arcade Fire aren’t a band for plain sailing visuals. It’s like turning around to Bjork and asking her to wear a slinky black number. It ain’t going to happen so if you wanted to just enjoy a performance, then you are best of heading to the aforementioned Clapton concert movie. This is an array of haunting music imageries as though you had dropped acid before going into the film. It’s dizzying in its imagery, however redolent they are, and this flared element feels, at some times, over the top and unnecessary. Bewildering, you’ll be sheepishly guided through Arcade Fire’s weird and wonderful world as they “push the boundaries” of art in a manner of speaking. It’s in air quotes because there isn’t anything entirely new in the film here that hasn’t been explored in a student film.
Which is all the more frustrating because Arcade Fire have taken to using cinema before in an exciting way. Their music video for The Wilderness Downton is much more of an interesting interactive interpretation, preening from it’s balance with Google Maps and how users can log in with a post code and the video will take you to that place. Here, it’s jaunty and sometimes messy. Director Kahlil Joseph cannot cohesively string the scenes together and, instead, it’s a mental hallucinating cinematic journey that, whilst works for the quirky songs of Arcade Fire, doesn’t necessarily impact on the audience.
Certainly, if being bombarded with insanity of lightshows and rave like colours that strobe in your face is your kind of thing and you are a massive fan of the band in question, then you’ll enjoy tumbling into this Alice in Wonderland world of silliness. Arcade Fire and Joseph’s foray into big screen exploits doesn’t entirely gel together///