‘She’s not used to strangers…’
You know when you want a relaxing, stress free cinematic experience? And so, you pop on some kind of comfort watch. A Marvel film perhaps. Maybe a Pixar film. What you probably shouldn’t watch is an abstract Icelandic film that is as impenetrable as it is slow. And yet, here we are…
Maria (Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Guðnason) are a childless couple who find meaning in caring for a lamb on their farm. And when I say a lamb, I mean a human child with a lamb’s head. This strange situation is compounded by the arrival of Ingvar’s brother Petur (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson) who arrives with his fabulous beard and makes constant sexual advances towards Maria whilst also rudely pointing out that their newly adopted child has a lamb’s head. It’s mental, like.
This is a film that doesn’t know what it wants to be. Some kind of existential philosophical fantasy in the style of Dogtooth? An out and out horror movie? A typically European arthouse flick? In the end, it’s a whole lot of nothing. Whilst it is visually striking and competently acted, it’s also needlessly incoherent and pretentious. The three main cast members deliver authentic performances, but are utterly without charisma. This results in a film that is frustrating and, for large parts, pretty dull.
Lamb is an interesting concept (I guess), but also one that perhaps might have worked better as a short film. As it is, I wouldn’t recommend this film to anyone. Especially not sheep.