Iceland. Sheep farmers prosper in a wild and isolate valley. Among them are Gummi and Kiddi, two brothers who haven’t spoken to one another in 40 years, even though their prestigious, award-winning animals have shared ancestry. When a deadly disease savages the countryside, affecting their flocks, the government orders them to be culled, but the brothers both decide to fight for their survival.

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Icelandic cinema is rare on the international scene, naturally attracting attention every time a movie comes out. First noticed with his nutty Summerland in 2010, Grímur Hákonarson made it to Cannes 2015 in the Un Certain Regard category with Rams. His mise en scène is cold but balanced and often hilarious, and his actors have the kind of real mugs that make great characters. Although intriguing, the movie remains too somber, straight-laced and flimsy to be really impressive, too fragile to be a real success – but Hákonarson bears watching in the future.