In a remote Icelandic valley, two estranged brothers find reconciliation through their dying sheep.
In short: Grímur Hákonarson’s 2015 drama Rams captures the quiet, bitter lives of two brothers who haven't spoken in four decades. When a scrapie outbreak forces the slaughter of their prize-winning flocks, these stubborn farmers are pushed into a desperate, life-altering collaboration that transcends their long-standing, rural feud.
Set in the Bárðardalur valley of north-east Iceland, the film follows Kiddi and Gummi, brothers living in adjacent houses on a shared family farm. Their forty-year silence is rooted in deep-seated personality clashes, exacerbated by Kiddi’s alcoholism and resentment over Gummi’s jealousy regarding a prize-winning ram. The arrival of a fatal sheep disease, scrapie, mandates a total cull of the valley's livestock, forcing the brothers to confront both the loss of their livelihood and the suffocating isolation of their shared history.
Director Grímur Hákonarson drew inspiration from a story told by his father about two brothers who stopped speaking for 40 years due to a conflict over a woman. Hákonarson noted that such intense, localized feuds are not uncommon in rural Iceland, famously remarking that the brothers in his story are not just sheep farmers, but also metaphorical parliamentarians. To ground the film in authenticity, lead actors Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Theódór Júlíusson spent time working on a sheep farm, while many supporting roles were filled by actual local farmers.
The film’s critical reception was overwhelmingly positive, earning a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic. It premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Prix Un Certain Regard, and was later selected as Iceland’s entry for the 88th Academy Awards. Beyond its festival success, the film’s resonance led to an Australian remake in 2020. Ultimately, Rams uses the stark, frozen landscape of Iceland to mirror the emotional distance between the brothers, culminating in a final, poignant attempt at reconciliation amidst a blizzard that threatens to bury their past along with their future.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Rams (2015 film)
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