Not baa-aad at all
Rams
Cast: Sam Neill, Michael Caton, Miranda Richardson Director: Jeremy Sims Duration: 1 h 58 m Available: On demand
In 2016, the Icelandic online newspaper Kjarninn asked: “Hverjar eru bestu kvikmyndir Íslandssögunnar?” Or: “What are the best films in Icelandic history?” It put the 2015 comedy rams at No. 2, right after the 1984 Icelandic classic revenge of the barbarians. In similar fashion, I’m declaring this Australian remake the second-best non-animated sheep-centric movie in history, right after Iceland’s original. (That keeps Shaun the Sheep out of the equation.)
Sam Neill and Michael Caton play Colin and Les, sheep-farming next-doorneighbour brothers who haven’t spoken in 40 years.
When an outbreak of ovine disease requires the entire region’s stock to be culled, Les blames his brother and hits the bottle. Colin comes up with his own ingenuous solution.
With Miranda richardson as a “pommie veterinarian” who’s sweet on Colin, this gentle comedy follows closely in the hooves of the original. The biggest difference is that brush fires are more common than blizzards in Australia, so that becomes a dramatic plot point. even the 3:1 sheep-to-human ratio is similar in both countries. Clearly, if anyone was going to come even close to the 2015 film, it would be Australian director Jeremy Sims. Good on ya, mate! ★★★★