Cannes Review: Director-Grímur Hakonarson’s Hrútar (Rams)| It’s Not Just About the Rams But the Brotherly Love They Revive

Film-maker, Grímur Hakonarson who is a graduate of Prague Film School and a 2005 Cannes’ Cinéfondation competitor returned stronger to this year’s Cannes Film Festival with a second feature film-Hrútar (Rams).

Considering the film’s pull factor, the brilliantly executed central theme of reviving brotherly love and the production quality, it surely is a low shot for Grímur Hakonarson to throw his second feature into the ‘Un Certain Regard’ but then with great movies like Naomi Kawase’s An playing along, it fits the crop of great films which were selected this year.

Hrútar (Rams) is set in a remote region of Iceland with two brothers who have not spoken to each other for forty years setting off against each when they were compelled by authorities to slaughter ‘all’ their Rams, the love of their lives.

The livestock farmers had no idea of how they were going to go through the coming winter without their Rams, that is how much these animals meant to them. Despite the request to have all their animals slaughtered in response to an incurable animal disease, one of the brothers’ (Gummi) attempt to cheat the system brought the two brothers together as they later united to battle the bad weather and the system to save the few remaining rams.

Kiddi, the older brother whose distain for Gummi deepened on the back of a brother’s ‘betrayal’—which robbed the entire valley of their livestock farms found himself fighting the winter weather to save his brother at the end. This was after Gummi had saved Kiddi several times—perhaps, as any human would do and not because he was a brother.

The film highlights the fact that, sometimes it’s not relations that hold people together—but having to fight for a common interest or purpose is enough to rejuvenate all the love that have been lost. For Kiddi and Gummi, saving the rams ended the many years of loggerheads and paired them together in a loving way—as they mastered a scheme to keep their source of ‘happiness’ alive.

Starring in the film are; Sigurdur SIGURJÓNSSON – Gummi, Theodór JÚLÍUSSON – Kiddi, Charlotte BÖVING – Katrin, Gunnar JÓNSSON – Grímur, Þorleifur EINARSSON – Sindri, Sveinn Ólafur GUNNARSSON – Bjarni and Jón BENÓNÝSSON – Runólfur.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJZ58TFUjMU

Earlier today, a photo call by the cast was held at the 68^th Cannes Film Festival—check out the photos below.

Photos Credit