Review of Lamb (2021) by Moviemitch96 — 08 Oct 2021

This bizzare little Icelandic indie follows a couple living on a lamb farm living in the rural mountains of Iceland. One day, one of their lambs unexpectedly and very strangely gives birth to a half-lamb half-human hybrid.

The couple take it upon themselves to raise it on their own, but soon find out that interfering with nature has its challenges (and consequences). The premise is so out there that I almost wasn't sure what to think upon seeing the trailer for this, but I'm certainly open-minded enough to go to whacky and outlandish indie films such as this all the time.

So I went in with modest expectations, and while the film does work surprisingly well in some regards, I was simply disappointed in how much it seemed to drag, although this did allow me to take better notice of and appreciate the gorgeous cinematography and mountain views throughout the film.

A rather minimalist approach was used for the film as well. Dialogue was rather scarce, with only a handful of scenes containing words and interactions with the characters. And as far as the performances go, Noomi Rapace (best known for the Swedish 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' films) gives what I'd consider her best (and most heartbreaking) performance to date.

Even as the film managed to keep me better invested in the second half, the last 5 or so minutes suddenly became rather bleak and dismal all of a sudden for my liking, and the film ended on such a sad and uncomfortable note that left me feeling empty and hollow as I walked out of the theater.

Overall, a bizzare premise is made surprisingly worthwhile thanks in large part to the performances, cinematography, and themes of parenthood that are implemented somewhat cleverly, but the pace did drag a bit for me, and the ending really left a bad taste in my mouth.