Reykjavík Grapevine - okt. 2021, Blaðsíða 22

Lamb: A Stran!e
Tale of Nature
And Nurture
Somethin! weird has slithered from the shed
into Icelandic cinemas
Words: John Pearson Photos: Film stills
The Icelandic environment and
its folklore are inextricably inter-
twined. The island’s often bleak
and treacherous landscape is the
perfect backdrop against which the
monstrous and fantastical can take
form in human imaginations, and
‘Lamb’ is a worthy modern con-
tributor to this tradition.
The narrative of the film re-
volves around María and Ingvar, a
married couple whose sheep farm
is the focus of their somewhat joy-
less existence. They have no chil-
dren, and apparently find scant
solace in their routine of tending
the land and birthing lambs.
However one such birth shocks
the couple out of their torpor. The
ill-formed new-born is nothing
like either of them has seen before,
and their initial reaction is one of
horror and confusion. But this new
life landing in their laps stimulates
dormant nurturing instincts, and
leads to the prospect of a new life
for both of them.
This creature is no ordinary
lamb, if indeed it is a lamb at all.
Nevertheless, the opportunity to
care for something that needs
them is irresistible to the couple.
They take the new arrival from its
mother for bottle-feeding, and into
their bedroom to occupy the crib
of Ada—their dead daughter. And
they give the new arrival a name
too: Ada.
A fragile contentment
When Pétur, Ingvar’s brother,
shows up uninvited at the farm it
seems that his incursion into this
bizarre domestic set-up might
burst its bubble. Pétur is initially
revolted by Ada, and by his fam-
ily’s reaction to her arrival. “What
the fuck is this?” he asks Ingvar.
“Happiness,” comes the response.
Pétur’s extended stay allows
him to slowly enter the couple’s
world of suspended reality. And in
time, as unlikely as it seems, Pétur
comes not only to accept Ada but to
join María and Ingvar in nurturing
her.
However nature doesn’t care about
the feelings of humans, and the
forces which fomented this strange
but comfy scenario eventually ini-
tiate its horrific unravelling.
Strong start, slow burn
‘Lamb’ is a remarkable directo-
rial debut for Icelander Valdimar
Jóhannsson, and was lauded at the
Cannes Film Festival this year.
Valdimar also co-wrote the film,
working with award-winning Ice-
landic novelist and poet Sjón.
Shot on an abandoned sheep
farm in north Iceland, the film has
a distinctly Nordic magical realism
about it. The visual aesthetic is rich
but cold, (blue-grey hues dominate
throughout), and the pace of direc-
tion is slow; we watch María and
Ingvar going about their business
for the first ten minutes of the film
before either of them speaks.
This slow, low-key feel extends
to the gradual revelation of the
main plot developments. When the
bizarre nature of the newborn is
revealed to the viewer, it is without
fanfare and almost incidental. It’s
as if the viewer is being invited to
join in the suspension of reality
adopted by the three human char-
acters, and to accept that this is all
quite normal.
‘Lamb’ deftly intertwines nat-
ural, supernatural and human
elements into a coherent space
in which the story can play. It’s a
modern-day manifestation of the
lore that folk have created since the
beginning of time, in an attempt to
make sense of their world.
But beneath the supernatural
elements, ‘Lamb’ is also a very hu-
man tale. It examines the fraught
insecurities of love, of the desire to
create a protective bubble around
the object of that love and to fierce-
ly defend against anything which
might intrude. And it reflects
our shared experience of loss and
longing; of needing to need, and be
needed.
‘Lamb’ is on general cinematic re-
lease internationally from October
8th, using the name ‘D!ri"’ (‘The
Beast’) in Iceland.
Guns are not usually required around Icelandic lambs, but...
The faithful Icelandic sheep fog
Film
THE HOME
OF ICELANDIC
SEAFOOD
AND LAMB
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most historical buildings.
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APOTEK KITCHEN+BAR Austurstræti 16 101 Reykjavík apotek.is