The movie Rams seems almost self-consciously current, while dealing with some very timeless themes.
A remake of an Icelandic film of the same name, it deals with bush-fires and infectious disease control. How 2020 is that?
It also deals with themes that resonate in rural Australia.
A decades long rift between two brothers hangs as something of a mystery, but when a certain situation is revealed I thought “Yep, that’d do it.”
I also had a feeling some local viewers will rush home and tell their livestock “You are beautiful, you are beautiful … but you are the best”. But they do that on a regular basis anyway.
There is a darkness in the movie that is never shied away from.
Darkness in life and death on the land.
Darkness in broken relationships.
Darkness in uncertain circumstances.
It isn’t a laugh a minute larrikin comedy.
Humour breaks in because it usually does, not to break the darkness, but to contextualise it.
Sam Neill and Michael Caton play roles that seem comfortable archetypes, yet their skill brings something new to their portrayals.
The others in the cast support them most effectively, Neill having more opportunities to interact with them.
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