A decade of The White Stripes – ten years of red, white and black, of pretend sibling-hood, and of other sorts of calculated eccentricities – and we’re no closer to unravelling the mystique surrounding Jack and Meg. But it don’t really matter when you’re in the presence of their rich avant-garage rock legacy – that which was celebrated in 2007 with a mega tour of Canada. Executed with typically bizarre aplomb, the tour encompassed every province, however big (Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre) or small (Yukon’s Art Centre), while leaving time in between for impromptu gigs on a bus, a boat and a bowling alley, as well as an infamous one-note show and a huge 10th anniversary concert. Filmmaker Emmett Malloy went along for the ride and has emerged with feature-length results.

The White Stripes Under The Great White Northern Lights then, is more than just a concert film or on-the-road documentary, but instead, aims to chart out the Stripes’ inner workings and emotions. So while there are copious amounts of grainy live footage, interviews and random events (like Jack and Meg’s meeting with some Inuit elders), there’s also a handful of vignettes that capture the two at their most candid. Jack manages to let his guard down long enough for a glimpse behind his stock media persona, while Meg’s subtle (and subtitled) charm makes for fine viewing. But the heart of the film remains the duo’s relationship – brother and sister, or otherwise – potently illustrated in the film’s finale, where Jack runs through “White Moon” on piano, with Meg leaning her head against his shoulder and shedding a tear. It’s a revealing enough portrait that does strip away some layers, but still, preserves the Stripes’ core mystique, leaving them as we found them and as they intended us to.

www.thewhitestripes.com