Rams
Hrútar
Blandt mænd og får
Directed by:
Grímur HákonarsonScreenplay:
Grímur HákonarsonCinematography:
Sturla Brandth GrøvlenComposer:
Atli ÖrvarssonCast:
Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Theódór Júlíusson, Charlotte Bøving, Jón Benónýsson, Gunnar Jónsson, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Þorleifur Einarsson (more)Plots(1)
In a secluded valley in Iceland, Gummi and Kiddi live side by side, tending to their sheep. Their ancestral sheep-stock is considered one of the country's best, and the two brothers are repeatedly awarded for their prized rams who carry an ancient lineage. Although they share the land and a way of life, Gummi and Kiddi have not spoken to each other in four decades. When a lethal disease suddenly infects Kiddi's sheep, the entire valley comes under threat. The authorities decide to cull all the animals in the area to contain the outbreak. This is a near death sentence for the farmers, whose sheep are their main source of income, and many abandon their land. But Gummi and Kiddi don't give up so easily – and each brother tries to stave off the disaster in his own fashion: Kiddi by using his rifle and Gummi by using his wits. As the authorities close in the brothers will need to come together to save the special breed passed down for generations, and themselves, from extinction. (Soda Pictures)
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Reviews (9)
Sheep happens. You will get more out of Rams if you like the more remote areas of Iceland. The movie is sensitive in portraying the characters and their relationships, refined in dispensing information, constantly maintaining the viewer’s curiosity, often through gestures instead of words. Rams imaginatively depicts the Nordic reality of people for whom it is unacceptable to take a sheep raised on genetically modified feed to their farm.
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At first glance, the film doesn't exactly pull you in with its plot. It’s about two feuding brothers who haven't spoken in 40 years, but are brought together by their shared love for the flock of sheep they care for. But underneath this is a quiet, strongly emotional gem that doesn't need words, nor does it waste them, to engage you.
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When you truly want to relax at the cinema, Aries are the best choice. An Icelandic drama with elements of cautious, functional humor set in such attractive exteriors is a truly rare experience, not only because of the unconventional story about two brothers who crave love for sheep, but not for each other. The story is enriched by drier humor which works perfectly throughout the entire running time and cannot offend anyone. It rather sincerely warms the viewer's heart and entertains, showing how seriously the two brothers act towards each other. I didn't mind the slow pace at all, on the contrary, I wanted it to continue even further. The final touching scene then definitively squeezes out the viewer and takes away all the sense of calmness that they had thanks to the excellent, sincere, and funny script.
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Eliciting pathos, canary level torture. Watching two overgrown elders, who at some points are hard to tell apart from their bleating protégés, lose everything they cared about and understood in life is a bit like watching Atreyu drowning his horse in a swamp for an hour and a half (AKA childhood ruined. Thanks Petersen). But then again, the austerity and first signal of the whole plot is quite meritorious, because I don't think I could survive a broader statement in this one. I'm glad it's down-to-earth, I'm glad it's "merely" telling a nice and sad story in the first and last lines.
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(50th KVIFF) Together with The Virgin Mountain, an Icelandic combo of old, sad fat men. A film about two quarrelling sheep-farming brothers who have lost their herds to scrapie. The extreme situation gradually forces them to exchange a few of words and re-evaluate their relationship. From Scandinavia I’m more used to dramedies than pure dramas, but watch out, Rams is really very serious and slow, and the humour is present only in trace amounts. More an emotional than a narrative film that filled me with melancholy and sadness. At home in front of the computer, it’d probably be boring, but on the festival screen it was engrossing. 80 %
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