FilmFest Review: “Rams”

— by Paula Treneer —

OIFF Film Review: “Rams”:

“Rams” is set in a remote rural area of Iceland, directed by Grimur Hakonarson, winner of the Un Certain Regard price at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and was also selected as Iceland’s entry for the Academy Awards. The film tells the story of two estranged brothers who haven’t spoken in forty years as neighbors, and captures the vicissitudes of their daily routines as sheep farmers, interrupted by an outbreak of scapies on one of the brother’s farms. The ensuing series of events threatens both brothers’ livelihoods, their herds and ultimately their lives in this poetic drama of rural Icelandic life. Some humorous moments lighten the somber tale and landscape, but ultimately this is a life-affirming film, with strong performances by the cast, the animals, and the spectacular Icelandic landscapes.

The director, apparently well known as a documentary film writer-director in Iceland, demonstrates a tender appreciation for the rituals of Icelandic farming, like the sheep competition in which the two brothers are bitter rivals, or the lovely Icelandic poem read to the rural audience gathered for the sheep contest, not to mention the variety of striking landscapes featured over the course of the film. The main protagonist, Gummi (Sigurdur Sigurjonsson) is an appealing character; his brother Kiddi (Theodor Juliusson) is redeemed by his actions at the end of the film. A worthwhile film for devotées of rural life.