Good concept, poorly executed.

A Disappointing Continuation

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

'RAMS': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five) An Icelandic drama about two estranged sheep farming brothers, that are forced to deal with a tragic infection; which wipes out both of their flocks. The film was written and directed by Grimur Hakonarson. It stars Sigurour Sigurjonsson and Theodor Juliusson. The movie's received mostly positive reviews from critics, and it's also won a few prestigious awards. I found it to be a little too slow-paced, but it is somewhat touching (especially if you're an animal lover).Gummi (​​Sigurjonsson) and Kiddi (Juliusson) are two sheep farming brothers in Iceland. They haven't talked to each other in over forty years, despite the fact that they live across from each other. When one of their flocks is infected by a deadly infection, called scrapie, all of the sheep in the area have to be killed (in order to avoid re-infection). One brother decides to hide some of his (seemingly) uninfected sheep; and the two decide to work together, for the first time in several years, in order to protect them.The movie is beautifully shot, and it's filled with decent performances. I don't feel like I got to know the brothers that well, but I still ended up caring about them; and I especially cared about their sheep. Although the movie doesn't go into great detail, about the two brothers' lives (or their past relationship), you can tell that they really cared about their sheep. So I definitely cared about them.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M9osPwjfbM

What can you truly say about an Icelandic film that features - as the principal story line - two sheep farming brothers who've not spoken to each other in 40years? Yes, it looks good (this part of the worlds film makers are the last to leave a scene on screen for long enough for the viewer to fully say they saw it!). Only problem here, is the scenes, like the story, are minimalist. The performances are untypical so you feel you could be watching a documentary about the actual farmers of the region - this is a plus. The landscapes are stark and shot to capture the vast emptiness with cold honesty. The music is as stark and cold as the story and surroundings - also a plus. The story reminds us of the sibling rivalry that raked several Biblical families and nations. The real star just could have been the astoundingly intelligent dog who acts as the go-between-postal service between these two somewhat ignorant men - this animal has to seen to be believed. The tragedy of devastating livestock diseases that sweep through these isolated farming communities is understandably gut wrenching for every poor soul involved but, the main focus of the story poses other asides that don't seem to be fully explored.If you, like me, don't feel satisfied with open-ended finales...endings where you have to imagine the final outcome, then you may not be fulfilled by the final fade out. Yes, there are only two possibilities as closures but, which one was it! OK, there is a resolve to some relationship aspects --but you felt that coming anyway-- so what about survival? the possibility between life or death in these frozen outdoor situations is as minimal as the story and gets to be less so with each exposed minute...Overall this is reasonably good character study (albeit odd characters) that keeps you watching even though it could have offered a touch more. Not for Action aficionados but at least it beats the cheap World Movie channel's usual perverse trash-fests hands down!

Rams is an Icelandic film and is Directed by Grímur Hákonarson and is about two brothers that are both sheep farmers and oddly haven't spoken to each other in over 40 years and to both their surprise their sheep have been infected by scrapie.this film is a very original film and it makes a film about sheep farmers seem very interesting and entertaining. this film has a very bleak feel to it and it is mainly shown in the AMAZING soundtrack by Atli Örvarsson. the acting in this film is top notch and you totally believe these are actual farmers that have been working with sheep there entire lives.overall this film is a very amazing film and it should have more recognition then it gets.

Rams is an Icelandic saga of the highest order, not of Kings, but of the Icelandic sheep farmer. There are battles, but the opponents are nature, the struggles of human relationship, and the hardships of life. It is a saga of and for the working man, expressed and pared down like a working man's haiku, and it is breathtaking. Beyond the story, it is a visual feast. The Icelandic landscape - seen in both its green glory and its stark white glory - literally made me gasp at first. The sound of the howling, relentless winter wind touched a primal nerve in me. And as someone who has co-existed with animals for much of my life, and who has worked on farms for years, I was touched by the aphorism that you can love - truly love - your animals, and then kill them and eat them. Killing something you love is not an easy thing to do of course, but Rams is a blast of reality in that way. Sustenance and survival in the real world, people. It's not always pretty, and never packaged. Rams is harshness and it is beauty, contrasting, colliding, and intermingling, like an Icelandic landscape and an Icelandic sheep farmer's life. Ten out of ten stars.