Certain thaw point for ram rival bros
Rams (M) 92mins
Gummi (Sigurour Sigurjonsson) is a man who doesn’t take defeat well.
Sure, it was only half-a-point but losing the competition for Best Ram to his brother Kiddi is particularly galling.
The pair live side-by-side in a remote Icelandic valley, running separate flocks of their family’s own Bolstader breed.
However, they haven’t spoken to one another for four decades and a thaw in relations is unlikely given current events.
Things get worse when Gummi makes an accusation, seemingly in spite, that he suspects the prize-winning Spotti is suffering from the dreaded ‘‘scrapie’’ (essentially the ovine equivalent of mad cow disease).
The local vet is immediately dispatched for and when the results prove positive it spells potential doom and disaster – not only for Spotti, but also for both the men’s herds and virtually all the sheep farmers around the district.
‘‘He has sired half the lambs in the district,’’ a shocked Kiddi laments.
Neither brother accepts the news that they need to destroy their livestock and feed stores with grace. Kiddi fires a shotgun through Gummi’s bedroom and refuses to cooperate with authorities, while Gummi decides to destroy his sheep himself – or does he?
Rams is yet another surprise package from the Nordic land that former English footballer Gary Lineker described as having ‘‘more volcanoes than professional footballers’’ (after they defeated his home nation at Euro 2016).
Writer-director Grimur Hakonarson skilfully manages these tonal transitions, keeping his focus on the changing relationship between the two estranged brothers, as they firstly seem set to escalate to open warfare, before realising they may have to work together for a common goal.
In Sigurjonsson and Juliusson, Hakonarson has also found an ideal pair to play his protagonists.
Both as wild and woolly as their beloved ovines, you can also feel their deep attachment to their livelihood.
Iceland might not have the sheep-to-human ratio that makes us the butt of many an international joke, but we’ve yet to make a film like this that eulogises their place in our society. – James Croot