INGRID JÓNSDÓTTIR

RAMS (2016)

Starring Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Theodór Júlíusson, Charlotte Bøving, Jón Benónýsson, Gunnar Jónsson, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Þorleifur Einarsson, Ingrid Jónsdóttir, Jörundur Ragnarsson and Viktor Már Bjarnason. Directed by Grímur Hákonarson.

Siblings Gummi and Kiddi have been living side by side without speaking to each other for forty years, each tending to their pedigree ancestral flock. When communication can’t be avoided, Kiddi’s dog Somi trots between houses carrying their handwritten notes between his teeth. Kiddi is a boozer and brawler, a popular figure at community get-togethers, but it’s through the eyes of his gentle younger brother Gummi that we see him acting out.

Their world is upended when the valley comes under threat from infection. While neighbours abandon their land, each brother tries to stave o disaster: Kiddi by taking action, and Gummi by using his wits. As the authorities close in, there’s every reason for them to set aside a lifetime of hostility to save their special breed, and their unique way of life, from extinction. But can they?

REVIEWS Rams - A unique and strangely difficult curiosity