A man asked if I had ever seen Rams and when I replied no, he said I had to check it out because it was SUPER funny and then I was promptly ghosted. Here to say I’m glad I was ghosted because I don’t understand how the heck Rams could be perceived as super funny.. There’s some comedic undertones for sure, but it’s a largely sad film.I did absolutely adore the depiction of what true respect, love, and mutual reliability looks like between humans and animals. That element of Rams was just beautiful. Overall, a very interesting story that took me by surprise!
66/100A.V. Club review. Simple but effective, or maybe I should say simple and effective, or just, simply, effective. The premise—two Icelandic sheepherding brothers who live on adjacent farms but haven't spoken for 40 years, as a result of some quarrel that's wisely never specified—lends itself to comedy, and there's a sight gag here (hospital entrance) that's among the funniest things I've seen in ages. Overall, though, Rams is more amusing than uproarious, and its underlying melancholy builds to a final scene that cuts through a lot of the preceding goofiness (especially jokes about elderly naked men) to achieve a jolting moment of extreme tenderness. I'd wager that's what won it the Un Certain Regard prize.
First and foremost, the importance of the godly cinematographic work of Sturla Brandth and Grøvlen is directly proportional to the intended visual impact that the religious metaphors of Bruno Dumont acquired in Hors Satan (2011) through Yves Cape's camera. Hrútar aka Rams is a powerfully told statement of brotherhood, rivalry, inner demons and the transcendence of family against a stunning backdrop of rural stockbreeding traditionality.Icelandic director Grímur Hákonarson directly introduces us to Icelandic landscapes and opens the situation with great visual power, engrossing from the very first frame, and escalates our understanding of the situation proportionally to the complexity of the problems faced by the protagonist, Gummi. He raises sheep. His brother does too. They haven't spoken to each other for 40 years despite the fact that they are neighbors and live where they were born and raised. When a lethal, incurable disease that affects the brain and spinal cord suddenly appears among one of the sheep, the land authorities arrive to the difficult decision of sacrificing the entire sheep population of the village. Gummi must now find a balance between re-establishing a relationship with his brother and rethinking his ancient way of life, which is attached to his sheep.Despite that the portrayal of authorities does seem dissonant against the ambience, conflicts and lifestyle that predominate in the feature, Hákonarson's approach is impartial. He seems to transmit the message that each stratum plays its social role and is a constituent part of a social system, and that in such differing roles, there are conflicts of interests. Nevertheless, the emphasis is much more personal and emotional, highlighting how the importance of family transcends even the most ancient lifestyle practices. The balance between the animal and human protagonists is sublime up to the point of becoming an ecosystem statement which force emanates from messages of brotherhood despite the interference of authorities. It is a fully balanced feature mirroring the life balance that Gummi must achieve with his own existence, as half the problems he faces are related to his flock, even if the animal premise is quite pervasive and suggested throughout as a main plot detonator. It doesn't even hesitate to include effective, well-timed, though brief splashes of humor.Winner of the Un Certain Regard award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, earning its place among my list of most gracefully shot films, being my second favorite Icelandic film after Eldfjall (2011) and unquestionably worthy of consideration as one of the best films of the 2015, Rams punches you in the face with a very powerful personal statement that considers both human and animal life as equally important under the eyes of the Creator and an ending which ranks as one of the most memorable and hard-hitting of the entire decade, even if we are halfway through.85/100
