Every year there’s always one. One movie that many — myself included — deem to be the WTF movie of the year. This year, at least so far, it’s “Lamb,” co-written and directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson and starring Noomi Rapace. Classified as a drama/horror/mystery, this haunting depiction of a couple’s inability to have and raise children defies classification. As the mystifying tale unfolds (pun intended…you’ll see), it borders on ridiculous, but there’s something to it that holds you to the very end. And even that ending prompts a lot of questions!
We meet Maria (Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Guðnason) living in the most secluded and barren segment of Iceland, attempting to farm and raise sheep. The eerie mist settling on the volcanic rock welcomes the guttural breathing of an unknown entity into the barn. The animals sense what’s to come, but Maria and Ingvar, living a quiet and routine life, perhaps do not. Winter turns to spring and as the land begins to thaw, they work the land and find the fruits of their labor pay off with the birth of several new lambs. But one lamb delivers a surprise that will change this couple forever.
“Lamb” is an atmospheric phenomena which superficially touches upon the preposterous. However, it is the layers roiling just beneath that surface, much like the volcanoes surrounding the life it could easily wipe out, that make this film so mesmerizing. With little dialogue, the visual aesthetics carry much of the story as we watch Maria and Ingvar come back to life and Ingvar’s troublesome yet famous older brother Pétur (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson) re-enter.
The first layer to be peeled away finds a man and a woman whose lives are not just repetitive but empty. Tragedy and loss have created a wedge between the two with a healing salve nowhere to be found. The harsh life of farming in Iceland is reflected in Maria and Ingvar’s relationship; barren and desolate. The birth of the “lamb,” however is a “gift” that help the two reconnect and find a reason to truly live again; a rebirth of sorts.
A lamb, a rebirth, an inexplicable creation with unknown origins reminds us of the Christian religion and the analogies don’t stop there. We see three crosses on a hill as Maria visits a family graveyard. The red-washed window casings on the outside of the home, framing the couple with their new addition, remind us of The Passover and of course, there’s Pétur or Peter who denied what he saw much like the disciple Peter. The parallel lines between this story and Christianity cannot be denied, especially with its ending, but the constant intrinsic questioning of the entire film keeps your mind racing as it slowly reveals the nature of the beast. (Again, pun intended.)
“Lamb” is a quiet film as it uses striking cinematic elements to capture the feel –cold, harsh and unwelcoming — of the environment. Color and lack thereof is just as important as the shades of white and black blending to a muted grey throughout much of the film, but when we see green, a color of fertility, it arouses our visual senses, alerting us to what’s to come even if it’s only subconsciously. Never does this feel overt but the cinematographer and director pay close attention to the importance of color.
Within the quietness, Rapace and Guðnason find a familiar tone together. Initially, just existing in an empty world, automatically doing chores, but eventually living life once again…at least for awhile. It’s easy to believe they’ve been together for a long time and have succumbed to nature’s will. The ease of their silence or their laughter is genuine as we watch the two read one another as easily as a book. Haraldsson adds just the right element of reality to this bizarre situation as his reactions are exactly what the viewer would initially do. The vagueness is intentional as to give anymore away would ruin the element of total surprise and disbelief.
“Lamb” creates discussion after you catch your breath from the ending. Delve in deeply and see, hear, and feel this film but be warned, this is my WTF film of the year.
3 Stars