Skip to main content
Commercial Photography

Rams: Film Review

Rams: Film Review


Cast: Sigurour Sigurjonsson, Theodo Juliusson, Charlotte Boving
Director: Grimur Hakonarson

Bucolic and fraternal, Scandi-drama Rams is a look at the devastation a blight can cause both in a relationship and also in a farming community.

Brothers Kiddi and Gummi (bearded grizzled types Sigurjonsson and Juliusson) live side by side and have done for years. But they don't talk, victims of a fall-out never explored but oft mentioned. Tensions are further exacerbated when Kiddi's rams beat Gummi's in a competition, sealing the deal and the drift between the pair.

However, when Gummi finds signs of fatal degenerative disease scrapie in Kiddi's flock, things boil over as the flocks in the valley have to be slaughtered to protect the spread. But Kiddi believes it's Gummi's jealousy that has hit the limit over their flock's lineage, even though vets back Gummi up.

So, with the valley's livelihood and the community ripped asunder by the cull, the battle lines are drawn.

Quietly unassuming and sensibly executed, Rams' power lies in the ramifications of actions, as well as the exploration of the bleakly wry humour of two scrapping for generations. Hakonarson uses the landscapes and bleak conditions to maximum effect - soon after the cull, winter arrives, a literal freezing of relationships between the brothers extrapolated on a larger canvas.

Where it's perhaps less successful is in the wider community. The consequences of a disease like scrapie (much like its UK equivalent BSE or Foot and Mouth disease) are that people buckle under the pressure and bow to darker moments, but Hakonarson is not interested in anyone outside of the central duo, whom he focusses on yet never fully explores their reasons for the rift. It's a frustration among the sedentary pace, and while it's understandable that there's no place for plot-convenient exposition, it's a factor that proves you to feel emotionally aloof and ultimately irritated by the conclusion, the emotional weight of which is somewhat lost.

There is a mournful sadness in Rams that could be mistaken by some for darker comedy, but it's the isolation within that proves to be Rams' strength and the ambiguity of other parts of it that proves to be its weakness.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Savdhaan India Ep1591 19 Apr 2016 Lust Leads To Crime

Savdhaan India Ep1591 19 Apr 2016 Lust Leads To Crime Telecast Date: 19.Apr.2016 Running Time: 00:41:51 Language: Hindi Story: Read more »

New Fifty Shades Darker poster drops

New Fifty Shades Darker poster drops The brand new poster for Fifty Shades Darker , starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson has just dropped. It comes ahead of the new New Fifty Shades Darker trailer release tomorrow.

Eagle Flight™, Werewolves Within™ and Star Trek™: Bridge Crew release dates are...

Eagle Flight™, Werewolves Within™ and Star Trek™: Bridge Crew release dates are... UBISOFT ®  ANNOUNCES RELEASE DATES FOR VIRTUAL REALITY TITLES Eagle Flight™ ,  Werewolves Within™ and   Star Trek™: Bridge Crew Coming this October, November and December SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — August 19, 2016 —  Ubisoft ®  has announced the release dates for Virtual Reality titles  Eagle Flight ,  Werewolves Within , and Star Trek ™ : Bridge Crew . All three titles will be coming to PlayStation ® VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive starting this October. Eagle Flight , developed by FunHouse, a division of Ubisoft Montreal, sends players to the skies of Paris where as an eagle they will soar over the historic city and its iconic landmarks. Playable in single player and in the heart-pumping multiplayer “Capture the Prey” mode, players will feel the true sensation and exhilaration of flight.  Eagle Flight  will be released on Oculus Rift beginning October 18, PlayStation ® VR beginning November 8 and HTC Vive beginn