The first seven minutes or so of Rams plays out in almost absolute silence, with no music and only a few words spoken. What we see is a group of farmers tending to their sheep and farm. It’s a serene scene, showing us the connection between man and nature. It also sets the stage nicely for the rest of the film – the quiet, profound tone is echoed within director Grímur Hákonarson‘s project – which is comfortably subdued depicting the relationship between two brothers and that of man and nature. The simple premise can sometimes be a little too much and occasionally feels a little too slow while we wait for something to happen.
Set in a remote valley in Iceland, Rams follow two brothers, Gummi (Sigurdur Sigurjónsson) and Kiddi (Theodór Júlíusson), who, despite living a mere few steps from one another, haven’t spoken in 40 years. Their sheep stock is renowned as one of the best and the pair have a fairly competitive nature when it comes to winning a local contest for best ram. However, when Gummi discovers that a rare sheep disease – called Scrapie – has infected his brother’s sheep, that has the potential to wipe out all the sheep in the valley, they’re fragile and struggling relationship is tested further when Gummi goes about trying to prevent not only the extinction of the sheep, but of the human life in the valley too.
Rams is small in scale, focusing its attention on two characters with a mere few others here, it’s very much a character drama driven by its protagonists and Hákonarson has depicted genuine, relatable characters in Gummi and Kiddi that we empathise and root for. Their passion for their work and their flock is believable and we care for this profession and appreciate this love for the eponymous animals. It’s a testament to the writing for making us do so seeing as such a topic could have made the proceedings painfully tedious and lacklustre but, instead, the script is laden with love for its craft. The score is hauntingly beautiful too and only adds to our engagement in the proceedings; it’s a character that relishes its ability to orchestrate the setting and dictate the tone and atmosphere.
Hákonarson – who also wrote and directed – has crafted such an elegant film. Watching Gummi and Kiddi’s relationship grow is compelling and Sigurdur Sigurjónsson and Theodór Júlíusson have such veritable chemistry, grounding their conflicting, brotherly relationship. Occasionally, we hit a fairly sombre tone due to the bland colour palette and score but Hákonarson keeps things from being completely deadpan by blending genres and incorporating dark humour. One scene involving Gummi and Kiddi trying to hide their sheep is tense and it’s this mash-up of tones and genres that plays in favour of Rams, keeping things fresh and adding to the nuance of the narrative.
The film is crisp to watch in Blu-ray too, with the exceptional cinematography of the gorgeous Icelandic scenery looking more remarkable than ever. You can’t help but feel as though for everything this film is and does, there could have been a lot more extra features than there was though. The BFI Q&A with Grímur is fascinating enough and the director gives an insight into how Rams came to be and the “Wrestling” short film is fun to watch too but we’d be happy with a little more to indulge in.
Overall, Rams is a resonating, beautiful drama that’s a well-directed, acted, engrossing and remarkable piece of cinema. Like Gummi and Kiddi’s relationship, it’s bittersweet but there’s something special and something endearing here too.
Rams is available to own on Blu-ray and DVD on Monday 30th May.
