Hrútar (2015) - Review in english

Some movies aside from giving us a beautiful cinematographic experience still allow us to expand our worldview knowing a little bit more of other's people culture. In the icelandic movie Hrútar (original title) or Rams (in english) we are presented to the land of fire and ice and now sheep too! Ice due to it's location, near the Arctic Circle, with its numerous glaciers, which flow numerous rivers; fire because the country has the largest number of active volcanoes beside the geysers and hot springs; and sheep since there are more sheep than humans.

The story is an existential drama. In a secluded valley in Iceland, Gummi (Sigurður Sigurjónsson) and Kiddi (Theodor Júlíusson) live side by side, dedicating themselves to their flock, who carry an ancient lineage in the country. Although they share the land and the way of life, they haven't talked to each other for 40 years. Soon after an annual contest to elect the best ram, a fatal and neurodegenerative infectious disease is discovered in one of Kiddi's sheep, putting the entire valley under threat. The authorities state that the region will be under quarantine, deciding to slaughter all the animals in the area to contain the outbreak. This is almost a death sentence for farmers, whose sheep are their main source of income. Since the local community lives only due to the creation of these animals, many farmers choose to abandon their land, but Gummi and Kiddi won't give up so easily. With authorities closing in to prevent the contamination from spreading, the brothers must come together to save their long award-winning line of sheep, besides themselves, from extinction.

In his first major film the director and also screenwriter Grímur Hákonarson skillfully crafts an engaging plot with slow narrative and psychological-emotional approach. Progressively the viewer is captivated by the story and by the relationship or survival difficulties of the two main characters. The tragedy's atmosphere present in the movie increases as the winter approaches and here we have to highlight the great work of the cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen. With the use of many long shots we follow without difficulty the trajectory of the characters and the hard conditions they face. We contemplate the beauty and uniqueness of the landscape of a region which goes from a vibrant and greeny environment to another white, dry, inhospitable and isolated, where the presence of intense cold and snow depict loneliness and exile. The soundtrack punctuates the whole movie, becoming increasingly gloomy with the change of season.

The difference of personality between the two brothers is beautifully crafted by the actors, being another strong point in the story. Gummi (Sigurður Sigurjónsson) is quiet and conformist while Kiddi (Theodor Júlíusson) is angry and drunkard. The unstated conflicts from the past arouse some mystery in the film and their present interactions cause some funny moments in this family drama.

Rams is a film about man's relationship with animals, his habitat and inner self. More than losing the conditions of life and work, losing the sheep means losing your identity, your way of life, losing the essence of what makes you be what you are. Hrútar won the Un Certain Regard Award for best movie at 2015 Cannes Festival.

  

Original title: Hrútar
English title: Rams
Director: Grímur Hákonarson
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3296658/