It’s a rare beast of a film that can provoke genuine gut laughs alongside moments of true anguish, but Rams achieves both, with undeniably greater emphasis on the latter. The film is neither comedy nor tragedy, and isn’t trying hard to be either, and there lies its beauty; Rams is effortless.

The gravitas of the situation is presented with utter sincerity, through unlaboured nods to the entrenched cultural history of sheep farming, so as Gummi (Sigurjónsson) and Kiddi (Júlíusson) guard and grieve for their flocks, they are no more farmers than brave resistance fighters, harbouring fugitives from hawk-eyed despot veterinarians.

Underneath, Rams is a touchingly simple, wonderfully paced, starkly realistic story of two brothers, culminating in one of the finest ten minutes of cinema you might see all year.

RATING: 5/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Theodór Júlíusson, Charlotte Bøving

DIRECTOR: Grímur Hákonarson

WRITER: Grímur Hákonarson

SYNOPSIS: When a fatal outbreak of scrapie threatens to spread throughout rural Iceland, two shepherds – feuding brothers – must fight against the odds to save their beloved sheep.