A wonderful thing about the best films being this: They can take you to places that you have never been. And even to places you had never even imagined existed. And then they can introduce you to people that live a life so far removed from your own, you come to recognize immediately how futile it might be to share with them, among other things, a philosophy of life.
Here we are taken to a remote farming village in Iceland. And the people here earn their living [by and large] tending to sheep. Only now the sheep are sick with scrapie. So sick in fact that their very livelihoods are on the line.
And two of the farmers in particular are brothers. And the one thing that they both share in common is this: neither has spoken to the other in 40 years. In fact, they communicate now through Somo. A dog. Literally. They write notes, put them in the dog’s mouth and the dog delivers them back and forth.
Why? Well that goes back quite a spell. And we just get a hint or two about it. One got the farm and the other didn’t.
Now, that is something new, right? And it’s not at all likely that you or I would be able to sit down between them and mediate their troubles. Especially given that the dispute revolves around the center of the universe. Their universe. Subsistence itself is on the line. And these folks truly do love their sheep.
But sometimes when everything that matters is on the line [and you literally have to stave off disaster] that can act as the impetus to bring a family feud crashing down.
Especially when it’s scripted.
And here’s the thing about Iceland: there are nearly 3 times as many sheep on the island as there are people. Sheep, in other words, are a really, really important part of the lives of these folks.
In a way that, for example, they are not to most of us.
As for the ending, I’m either buying it wholeheartedly or I’m not buying it at all. It’s just too close to call.
IMDb
The sheep are credited as actors.
at wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rams_(film
trailer: youtu.be/PWVmUVAdi5Y
RAMS [Hrútar] 2015
Written and directed by Grímur Hákonarson
[b]Farmer: In this nation none has played a larger role and survived through ice and fire. Whatever happens, resistant and tough for thousands of years mankind’s savior and friend. All year around, in joy and disagreement, the sheep intertwines with the farmers’ work and being. Bright was the outlook when our sheep felt fine. Black were the nights with the flock in decline.
…
Judge: Second place goes to Gudmundur Bodvarsson with the ram Garpur. He got 86 points. I must point out it was a very close call between the top two rams. The result was determined by the thickness of the back muscle. The rams are both from the same renowned stock…
[cut to Gummi’s glum face – he knows that the winner is his detested brother, Kiddi]
Judge: And the winner is Kristinn Bodvarsson and his ram, Sproti.
…
Gummi: Come here, Sproti. Let me see your back muscle.
[he notices that the ram is acting oddly]
Gummi: What? Something wrong?[/b]
Yep: Srapie. And then the whole world [his, theirs] is turned upside down.
[b]Hildur: Is something wrong?
Gummi: I’m afraid something is wrong with Kiddi’s sheep.
Hildur: Oh, and what might that be?
Gummi: I’m afraid it might be scrapie.
Hildur: Scrapie? Oh, it could hardly be.
Gummi: I examined him yesterday. He has all the symptoms.
Hildur: My dear Gummi, don’t you think that Katrin would have noticed if the prize ram had scrapie? Do you want me to talk to Kiddi? Get someone to examine the ram?
Gummi: Would you do that?
Hildur: You haven’t spoken to each other in forty years. Why begin now?
…
Gummi: If it turns out to be scrapie, wouldn’t it be likely that both of our herds would have to be slaughtered?
Hildur: I don’t believe it’s scrapie. We’ve never had any cases of scrapie. How could it have been brought here. Aren’t you just still recovering from the ram competition?
…
Kiddi [after firing his rifle into the window of Gummi’s house]: Take that, you bastard! You won’t get away with this! Fucking ram murderer!! He doesn’t fucking have srapie! You’re just making that up![/b]
Cut to Kiddi’s face. We know that he knows it’s scrapie.
[b]Finnur: Dear friends. Results of the tests just arrived. Scrapie was found on two other farms, at Haugi and Seljatunga. It has therefore been decided that all of the sheep in the valley must be slaughtered.
Farmer: Is this the final decision?
Finnur: They say there’s been enough contact between them, and in order to eliminate the disease, they’ve got to take the entire valley.
Kiddi: Then why not just take us, too? Finish the job!
…
Finnur: We need to trust the veterinarians.
Kiddi: They don’t know anything. University-educated fools from down south.
Finnur: What would you do, Kiddi?
Kiddi: I want us to put a stop to this nonsense! We just refuse to slaughter our sheep!
…
A sign put up at the bridge to the valley: LINE OF DEFENSE Sheep Diseases—Virulence!
…
Gummi: I’m no expert on scrapie, Grimur. But when I examined the ram yesterday, that was the first thing that came to mind.
Grimur: Damn it. If we have scrapie in the valley we’re in deep shit.
Gummi: Nah, you over on the east-side have no need to worry if scrapie shows up here.
Grimur: We borrowed Kiddi’s ram last winter. The creature sired half our lambs.
…
Reporter [on television]: A case of scrapie has come up on the farm Bolstad in Bardardalur. This is the first occurence of the disease in this valley. According to Katrin Nielson, the district vet, the scrapie was diagnosed in an adult ram, and tests are being carried out to determine whether it is present on neighboring farms. No decision has been made concerning a slaughter. It is believed that scrapie came to Iceland with British sheep at the end of the 19th century, and has not been eliminated entirely. It is an infectious disease that attacks the brains and spinal cords of sheep, and is incurable.
…
Katrin [seeing that Gummi had shot all of his sheep dead]: Why did you do this, Gummi?
Gummi: I wanted to kill my sheep myself.
Katrin: Is this all of them?
Gummi: Yes, 147 sheep.[/b]
Give or take a few.
Government official [to Gummi]: We pay for every sheep that’s slaughtered and you’re also paid so-called “product loss compensation”, according to average production the past three years. Payments are distributed over a two year period and then you can apply to acquire new sheep.
Socialism!!
[b]Government official: Listen. Do you think you can help me get in touch with Kristinn?
Gummi: He lives next door.
Government official: Yes, I know. But he won’t talk to us. Could you talk to him? You’re brothers, right?
…
Katrin: You need to clean everything. The shit, the hay, everything on the floor. Also the wood.
Gummi: And the pens?
Katrin: Yes, those too. All wood. This pitchfork here. Everything that you’ve used in here. Tools, clothing, everything. You need to destroy it all. It’s best to burn it. You also need to clean out the barn and destroy all the hay. And absolutely don’t sell it. Scrapie can be transmitted by hay mites.
Gummi: Do I need to destroy all of the hay?
Katrin: Yes.
…
Kiddi [after attacking Gummi and throwing him to the ground]: Well, Gummi? What do you say now? Do you know what you have done? You’ve wiped out the Bolstader stock. This is going to be a hell of a winter! No sheep. Just the two of us.[/b]
Well, at least they’re talking again.
[b]Finnur: Have you finished cleaning?
Gummi: Yes.
Finnur [to another farmer]: How about you?
Villi: No. We decided to quit. We’re going bankrupt anyway. So we’re just going to take the opportunity and leave. We can’t see living here two more years with no sheep and a pile of loans. Nor is it certain the scrapie is going anywhere.
Finnur: It soesn’t need to come again, Villi.
Villi: Have you talked to the farmers in Svarfadalur? They’ve had to slaughter their sheep three times!
…
Government official [concerned about Kiddi]: It’s this matter of your brother. As you know he hasn’t been cooperative. He is the only one who has not cleaned. It is causing us great concern. Unfortunately, we can’t bring in new sheep until all of the sheep sheds have been disinfected.
…
Government official [as to why all of the land is in Gummi’s name]: What’s the reason?
Gummi: My father did not want Kiddi to own the land. I promised my mother before she died that Kiddi would get to stay at the old farm.
Government official: You know what means? It means that you are responsible for your brother. He lives on your land and if he doesn’t follow the rules it’s you that…
Gummi: That what?
Government official: If it comes to a legal fight, you’ll be the one that’s sued. [/b]
Time to send for Somo.
[b]Kiddi [to Gummi]: I know what you have in the basement.
…
Kiddi: Gummi. How many are there? Is there a ram?
Gummi: What does it matter to you?
Kiddi: Well, these are the only sheep left of the Bolsstadur stock. It matters to me.
Gummi: Fucking bullshit. Those are my sheep. Don’t you dare come near them!
…
Gummi: Kiddi, you have to help me. They’re coming.
…
Katrin: Gummi? Where are they? Where are the sheep?[/b]