CAPSULE: Rams (2015, Dir. Grímur Hákonarson)

Two estranged, sheep-farming brothers lock horns after the outbreak of a rare livestock disease. Not the most greenlightable pitch, I know, but don't let that put you off; it's a set-up that gives ample space for director Grímur Hákonarson to explore the eccentricities of Icelandic farmers and their collection of knits.

I'm not selling it, am I? Well, since premiering in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes, Rams has gone on to take the world by storm. Hákonarson's film is a quirky gem, stocked with humour and emotional richness. Lead performances from Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Theodór Júlíusson as the cantankerous brothers, Gummi and Kiddi, bring surprising resonance to this tale of familial repair under adversity.

It probably goes without saying but, as with any film out of Iceland, the barren, frosty setting takes centre stage. Hákonarson makes solid use of it, bending its enduring grandeur into his thematic esotericism. Bloodlines of both the human and livestock varieties bleed into livelihoods and into the valley's glacier paced history. 

A beguiling cold climate comedy with character aplenty.

★★★☆

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