I have been a Nightwish fan for a long time. They're a perfect mix of sweeping epic, magical lyrics and deep, layered music that has the ability to take you on a journey. So when I heard they were going to make a whole movie giving visuals and form to their latest album, Imaginaerum, I was understandably hyped. Sure the limited budget would mean that it wouldn't be visually on par with Hollywood blockbusters, but Tuomas Holopainen is a man with such imagination that I trusted him to deliver a story I wouldn't soon forget.
And I wasn't disappointed. Imaginaerum, the movie, is a unique-looking creation that fits the mood and feel of the album remarkably well, breathing life into the grand story that the album only hints at. It's a story of a songwriter's death, the coldness of loneliness, abandonment and the ability of music to tell stories and to express what we would otherwise hide and be unable to put into words. It's also an homage to many things Holopainen holds dear to his heart. The Snowman, Neil Gaiman, Salvador Dali, magical realism, jazz, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are only a few things given a nod by this film. It's a convoluted mix of reverences, genuine storytelling and something new, but strangely enough at the end it all pulls together and paints a picture.
Yet the film isn't exactly what I imagined it'd be. I thought it would simply be a really long music video, or an actual musical if you will, with the tracks from the album being played in order, telling a story. It's not, though, and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not. The actual music by Nightwish is used a bit haltingly. A song surges every now and then, only to die away when the scene changes, as it is a very fast-paced film. This is most apparent at the beginning. Later on there are longer music numbers, and those are great. The rest of the screen time is used to tell a story about a dying songwriter, his daughter and their life as seen through found and lost memories. And the story is not half bad. Personally I would have preferred to have a musical instead of it, but... oranges and apples.
Who would enjoy this film? Any fan of Nightwish, naturally, but I'd also recommend it to anyone who appreciates gorgeous music, dark and Gothic visuals, magical realism and stories that delve deep into imagination.
