Overrated

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

As a knitter, I was drawn to this movie because of the Icelandic sweaters and the sheep. I expected it to be some kind of silly comedy about sibling rivalry in a remote clime and thought I'd watch a few minutes just to look at the sweaters. Instead, I wandered into a riveting tale of duty and survival in very harsh conditions and humans who demonstrate an unfailing fortitude in dealing with overwhelming circumstances. This is actually a tale about farmers dealing with the injustice of Scrapie affecting their village (this alone would have drawn me to this movie). The cinematography was rich and I was not disappointed in the authentic Icelandic sweaters that evoked the picturesque backdrop. Well acted, beautifully filmed, and certainly worth watching.

This is I believe the first movie from Iceland that I saw. And it takes one to a very different atmosphere. That of farmers in the cold Icelandic conditions. The setting in the movie is great both with it's beauty and by contributing to the mood of the movie. It is a very depressing and grey movie but it has some special strength and beauty about it.The main actors do an amazing job by doing very realistic acting. One feels like one is really watching farmers living their daily lives and during a crisis. They show their emotions in a very unforced and raw way.The story and how much they need their sheep is an important piece that adds to the characters and the depth of their story. We see the love these men have for the animals and what a big part of their life it is. The ending is a very special scene, it ends in an abrupt way but the story that they were telling us is told to the end without us missing anything.

(Flash Review)Can slaughtering herds of sheep mend a brother's relationship? This film asks that question. Another film that hooked me in with a novel title and a bold image of nothing less than a Ram's head on the cover. (ha) This story revolves around two brothers who haven't spoken for 40 years. They live in an isolated Icelandic valley amongst other sheep herders. Both brothers produce award winning rams as the bloodline of their flocks is ancient and strong. When a terminal disease infects the animals, the village votes to slaughter them all. During this turmoil, events occur and make the brothers interact…for better or worse? This film also has a methodical pace that helps accentuate the vast and emptiness of their land and lives. A good and quiet little drama with dashes of dry humor sprinkled in.

This is one of those films that makes anyone trying to explain it sound like a pretentious film geek. It's a film out of Iceland believe it or not, that centers around a feud between two brothers that has gone on for more than 40 years. Despite living right next to each other, they never speak. Sending dogs or other people to do it for them if it's a necessity. After one brother, Gummi, loses a ram contest to his brother he gets pretty upset. And naturally, he wants to check the prize winning ram himself. Upon inspection he finds that there is a possibility that it has a disease called Scrapie. Which is a contagious, fatal disease for sheep. From here, each sheep farmer is forced to put down his/her entire livestock to try and eradicate the disease. If this sounds like a documentary to you, don't worry, there is more to this then meets the eye. The first half of the film is driven by it's story while the second by it's characters.Unfortunately for the film, the first half has the only great parts of the movie. It's driven by how this fatal disease is affecting the few people that live there. Showing that killing all the sheep and having to clean every inch of their farms is forced people into bankruptcy. Some are refusing to cooperate, knowing that this could very likely happen to them. While others do as their told and hope for the best.It was incredibly interesting to watch something so simple destroy these peoples lives. While sheep farming may not be something that many of us can relate too, it's the human drama that helps transcend this film into watchable cinema. People being pushed to the edge puts everyone out of their comfort zones and seeing how they react was the most compelling part of the film.But near the half way point, this story is all but forgotten about. After that point the film shifts its focus on the brothers relationship. Both are very stubborn but each have very distinct personalities that the film attempts to profit from. The downside is, the story around the characters for the last forty five minutes is really not that interesting.I have seen the whole family falling out story before and 'Rams' doesn't do anything different with it. They hate each other then a sudden and drastic change rocks their world and forces them together again. It's something that I have seen a million times. This left the remainder of the film with a rather stale, predictable vibe to it.Watching one guy stare with anger at another before going to do nothing is not my idea of an interesting story. It's honestly to bad that this happens because it is actually very beautiful to look at. The cinematography and direction is very impressive. And the films soundtrack is actually really great. But when half of your film is not that great it's hard to see past that. It has good characters, excellent direction, great performances, and an interesting opening half. Yet, when it comes down to its conclusion, the film falls flat. There isn't a whole lot that will keep your interest long enough to distract you from its poor pacing and bland, predictable story.