Lamb (Dýrið)

Ancient folklore and myth are wrapped up with grief, lust and hope in this peculiar, intriguing tale set in the bitter beauty of rural Iceland.

Maria (Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Guðnason) are farmers Iceland tending a mixed crop and livestock farm. The outstanding beauty of the landscape is nothing to them other than what it can produce for them to live on and sell. It appears to be little more than an existence that they accept as their lot; going about their work in almost silence for the first quarter hour of the film.

It’s also Christmas with signs in the skies and something unsettling the sheep in their enclosure. Come the spring its lambing season and the couple find an unexpected surprise, two in fact as Ingvar’s brother Pétur (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson) turns up out of the blue. He’s not a farmer but helps out and also begins to stray towards Maria.

To say much more (and avoiding the trailer is advised) would really ruin this film. Broken into three untitled chapters, Lamb is slow powerful, absorbing character study of a couple who have had to deal with a horrendous loss that has torn their relationship to the extent that it is hanging by a thread.

There’s a delight and gentleness as the couple adapt to their new situation, which counterpoints the rugged lifestyle and terrain. As Maria and Ingvar still have to tend to their work, which they do virtually in near silence. The conversations remain sparse, their feelings and thoughts conveyed through their eyes and expressions. These are brilliant, subtle performances of great dexterity expertly caught by debut feature director Vladimar Jóhannsson, co-written with Sjón.

Both are pulled up by the arrival of Pétur with all having to adjust to the situation: Pétur to what he finds with Maria and Ingvar more contented that he expected. This doesn't stop him flirting and making a pass at Maria showing no understanding or empathy towards their situation, though the viewer is kept wondering where this will go. It isn’t all one way though as in a moment of selfishness, possibly hatred, Maria undoes some of the sympathy we have for her as a mother through an act of brutal cruelty.

That said, it’s not typical, and this is not a horror film; more of a very weird, dark fantasy speckled with some biblical themes. There are effects though Lamb is powered by the performances and the cinematography of Eli Erenson, all gelled with a carefully pointed score by Þórarinn Guðnason.