 | MOVIE DETAILS • Name: Lamb • Year: 2021 • Country: Iceland, Sweden, Poland • Director: Valdimar Jóhannsson • Main cast: Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson • Runtime: 106 minutes • Production company: Black Spark Film & TV, Chimney Poland, Chimney Sweden, Film i Väst, Go to Sheep, Madants, Rabbit Hole Productions • TRAILER
|
We are in a foggy rural landscape, it’s cold and windy, and wild horses move aside to let the camera move towards a solitary farm. Inside, a herd of lambs keep themselves warm under the roof. They have food, they are taken care of. They are protected. Can we really tell how they feel? Can we be sure, they are just behaving like usual, or is there something wrong with them? Is the camera just an objective point of view from which to get introduced to the farm, or are we being told something else? Lamb (2021) is an amazing slow paced first feature film that brings together science-fiction and drama while allowing some laughs along the way.
We are introduced to the couple that lives and works in the farm, in the middle of the Icelandic nowhere. Noomi Rapace and Hilmir Snær Guðnason‘s roles get along well in the daily, intimate scenarios of their routine. They accomplish tasks in that automatic way of the regulars, not completely devoid of effort though, which sometimes rewards them with a particular joy when new members are born on the family farm.
The movie has an element of surprise, but focuses not only on the event that will unexpectedly change their lives forever, but also on the consequences it will have for their family. The characters have depth, and while their rhythmic rural lives slowly turn towards a possible brighter future, the weight of some past decisions will push the balance back – humans make mistakes, but in the end, nature balances everything.
Valdimar Jóhannsson, who had been working earlier mostly in the electrical department of film productions, manages to surprise us with his debut as a director, co-written with the Icelandic author Sjón – also known for his work as a writer in Dancer in the Dark (2000) or in the upcoming next feature film from Robert Eggers The Northman (2022). The film not only features Iceland, but is also in the Icelandic language, which came as a surprise for many of us that didn’t know Noomi Rapace had actually lived in the country as a child and therefore speaks the language. In one of the most enjoyable performances I’ve seen along her successful career, Lamb (2021) is undoubtedly a must-see of this year.
RATE: 7,5/10
IMDB URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt9812474
