Institute History
Description
Since premiering at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the top prize in Un Certain Regard, Grímur Hákonarson’s Rams has won acclaim at festivals around the world for its tender, funny depiction of life in a remote Icelandic farming valley. We are proud to bring this remarkable film to the Sundance Film Festival.
After Gummi’s prize ram loses to the one belonging to his long-estranged brother and neighbor, Kiddi, at a local competition, his concerns that Kiddi’s herd might have scrapie, an incurable and contagious illness, are initially dismissed as the complaints of a sore loser. But as concern about the entire valley’s livestock turns to quiet panic, the brothers find their very different ways of dealing with the impending threat to their way of life (and their beloved sheep) forcing them back together.
A film of sharp humor and surprising warmth, Rams imbues its simple tale with tremendous visual beauty (bolstered by the stunning work of director of photography Sturla Brandth Grøvlen) and a rich storytelling voice. Veteran actors Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Theodór Júlíusson find unexpected notes of pathos and wit in their portrayals of the feuding brothers.