What are weird movies, if not to jostle you out of your comfort zones? Make you question the unknown and maybe go as for as to think that there's something else that exists beyond our plain that we shouldn't interfere with. Or maybe just an Iceland film and let the story just not make that poignant enough. In a weird, skewed kind of way.
I don't know what am talking about either, to be honest, am confused because it's an interesting film that seemed to have lost itself from the plot and decided to mostly feel the void with condensed atmosphere right after 1/3 of the way of the movie. The Icelandic locations did well to make you feel overwhelmed with uneasiness and confusion. The setting is also interesting since there's no one to absolutely relate to nor understand. Then again, it's an Icelandic movie. Drama, mystery, or horror. It seems to be quite mixed between those.
I do like movie directors experimenting with things, especially for projects like these that had allowed the director to be free of studio interferences. It just leaves me more clueless, like it's some Midsommar imitation of a film. Not that it is entirely, but maybe A24 is trying to bank on something like that.
The movie is based on a screenplay written by Sjón, who has worked with Björk on numerous occasions. It was produced by Noomi Rapace and Béla Tarr. Rapace stars alongside Hilmir Snær Guðnason with director Valdimar Jóhannsson also co-writing the script.
This is Jóhannsson's first directorial debut but he's had experiences in the industry working in special effects for multiple films like Rogue One: Star Wars and Transformers: Age Of Extinction.
The movie is about a couple living on a farm, somewhere within the Icelandic mountains, where they herd sheep. After a strange birth by a mother sheep, things start to get really weird. Like folktale weird. The couple later adopts the sheep and names her after their deceased daughter. Thus ensues the drama.
Where to begin? Starting with the lamb. It's not a normal lamb. I won't go as far as to spoil it but the best way to describe it is that it's some godly miracle that has made the couple realize that they received a once in a while blessing. Until the reveal at the end of the film rears its ugly head. And man does this movie fail to put where it needed to.
First 1/3 of the movie was about the strange foreboding of impending doom, where the events unfolding have led anybody watching to believe that there would be dire consequences of what has transpired. The adopted mother, played by Rapace makes some selfish calls, it's a nice twist on human nature as the mundane, yet blissful farm life archetype was turning out to be a ruse for something a bit more demented.
Afterward is where the movie kind of lost me, the part where the brother of the husband shows up and where it's supposed to be an interesting leading development of further spiral into the madness of this whole thing, it just turned out to be a somber, summer time for the family to dance around, watch videos, and kill the vibe that the first film had setup.
I understand that the premise was established and that the movie would like to try doing different things, while also being reminded that this is an Iceland film, you could have still instilled some suspense into the film even within the 2nd act. As that could have prepared the audience for the 3rd act and the ending.
I was off-put by the film's lack of suspense, however, was still glued to watching it, and I kind of know why. The cinematography for this movie was done brilliantly, the visual effects were crazy good, and the movie was sparsed yet careful about when the score should be playing. The production quality was pretty top-notch. So it had my curiosity peaked because of these factors.
There's also the strange Icelandic, ephemeral feeling. Like everything was dense yet a bit serene at times. The foreground and background shots of the movie heightened up the atmosphere really further. What I first assumed was a calm story about a lamb, turned into something much more grueling. No thanks to the second part of movie for killing whatever suspense could have been built.
While I didn't think this movie was that brilliant with its story and dense atmosphere, it is still stuck in my head. I have multiple questions, like is it really a false parenthood story underneath where they stole someone else's child and got their comeuppance, or is it that I haven't read anything deep enough? There are only 3 characters and a CGI lamb to mostly look at. Nothing much else, and these three, I've wished had more to give.
If you wanted to think of it much more, you can. It does leave it to your imagination and I applaud it for that. But I also did want a movie that has a solid premise to pay off, and it really didn't leave at that mark. Well, at the least there were some silly moments here and there.
I get that arthouse movies are supposed to be abstract by some nature, this movie is no different from that kind of approach. But when you make a film that just forgets what it is about within halfway and then fails to least connect the dots for a good payoff, it rather comes off as unsatisfactory.
I was done watching with a weird question mark on my head, like what was this movie really supposed to be about? There's definitely a lot more going, but I don't see the connections. Though I didn't find this a total waste of my time to watch, at least thanks to the amazing production quality and atmosphere.
If you're curious to know what the movie is really like, just don't build any expectations. Least embrace what it has to show, before asking questions about it.