Grímur Hákonarson talks award-winning Icelandic drama ‘Rams’
“We are not trying to compete with genre films: we are not trying to be something we are not” - Grímur Hákonarson
“My scripts are quite visual: I write in pictures; I don’t use much dialogue; I always try to tell the story with images as much as possible,” states Icelandic screenwriter and filmmaker Grímur Hákonarson. His work has newly been regarded as some of the most visionary and innovate in contemporary Icelandic cinema and his latest film is no exception.
Rams follows the desolate lives of two brothers, Gummi (Signurdur Signurjonsson) and Kiddi (Theodor Juliusson), who have not been on speaking terms for the past 40 years; despite residing in the same valley. However, after their flock of sheep contract a deadly virus, the brothers must put aside their differences and work together in a bid to save all that they have ever known.
It is evident from the offset that Rams is a very personal film to its director. “My father told me a story about two brothers who lived on the same land for 40 years never spoke to each other,” recalls Hákonarson, “they were in love with the same woman and blamed each other for not being able to win her over.” Whilst his father’s story may have inspired Hákonarson, the filmmaker was determined to incorporate more novelty and progression into the subject matter. “I liked the idea of a conflict between siblings and their connection between the sheep because we, as humans, have a long history with this animal.”
After a series of short films, Hákonarson directed his first feature film Summerland (2010) which he followed this with the agriculture documentary A Pure Heart. The film marked Hákonarson’s second documentary after Varôi Goes Europe (2002), which he affirms was the catalyst towards writing his screenplay for Rams. “I’m sometimes writing a script and sometimes making a documentary. I like to combine these two things; it’s mental work – my fictions are a little bit like documentaries and my documentaries are a little bit like fiction.” He adds, “I know this culture, I know what the story is. I love filming nature, it’s boring to film in the city, it’s much more fun to film in the country.”
Being set in the desolate Icelandic countryside – and on a small budget of just €1million – filming on location for Rams was essential. However, with such little recourses and apparatus, being ingenious was a necessity. “You really have to be imaginative because it limits you, but by limiting yourself something good can come out of it: you need to think about creative solutions.” Shot over the course of 28 days throughout August to November, Hákonarson was forced to reshoot the film’s most crucial scene due to lack of snow. “That snowstorm scene had to be re-shot in January”, he says. “That was the hardest piece of filming I’ve ever done: it was like making an action movie.”
Rams stars two veteran actors of Icelandic cinema: Signurdur Signurjonsson and Theodor Juliusson. Upon casting the actors for the role, Hákonarson was adamant about incorporating as much authenticity and tact as possible. “Iceland is a small country so there aren’t as many actors as you think.” He adds, “Signurdur [Signurjonsson] and Theodor [Juliusson] were always typecast but I cast them because of their talent and what they share in common with the characters.”
Rams premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival where it screened as part of the Un Certain Regard section. The film went on to be the recipient of the prestigious Un Certain Regard award, which came as a complete shock to its director after receiving a somewhat ambiguous reception. “In Iceland, sometimes people clap when the film starts or when they’re enjoying it, but in Cannes I didn’t hear anything.” He continues, “I was afraid that they didn’t like it but afterwards there was a standing ovation and the audience were clapping for ten minutes – I didn’t know what to do with myself.”
Rams is by far one of the most original and progressive films to come out of European cinema in recent years. Hákonarson’s ability as a storyteller exemplifies occurring themes such as loss, devotion and solitude that continue to captivate audiences in a distinctive manner. “I always try to tell the story with images as much as possible”, he says. “I think it’s good sometimes to skip the dialogue because there are so many possibilities of telling stories through images: I write in pictures.”
Icelandic cinema has transcended into somewhat of a cinematic New Wave with films like Baltasar Kormákur’s The Deep (2012), Ragnar Bragason’s Metalhead (2013) and Baldvin Zophoníasson’s Life in a Fishbowl (2014) regarded as some of the best foreign films of the past five years. “What they have in common is telling contemporary, humanistic stories”, explains Hákonarson. “We are not trying to be something we are not: we’re not trying to compete with genre films; we are telling stories about ordinary people.”