The use and abuse of Sigur Rós music in film

Whimsical Icelandic songmeisters Sigur Rós are the go to guys for movie scenes where you need to convey intense, conflicting emotions. Done well, it lends a gentle bittersweetness and emotional lift to a scene. Done poorly and it is tacky and fake. Done really badly and you'll want to tear your ears off.

Wes Anderson is an example of the first as the climactic scene in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou shows.

At this point in the film Steve (Bill Murray) comes face to face with the shark who ate his friend and who he has sworn to kill. He has also lost his not-Son, alienated his crew, driven away a group of unpaid interns (except one), been attacked by pirates etc. The music gives the scene a gentleness, accentuating the beauty of Henry Selick's stop motion sea creatures and capturing the peaceful resignation of the film's protagonist.

Crucially it builds on the rest of the film's soundtrack which mostly consists of Seu Jorge singing David Bowie songs in Spanish. Needless to say it is an awesome soundtrack.

Hamish Gibson lists his top uses of Sigur Rós in film (including the above clip) here, give it a read!