Well, I thought Titane was my daily dose of 2021 weirdness but I guess I have to contend with Lamb now. This is its own special case of WTFery. Helps I went in without the trailer which apparently spoils the premise of the movie… so fair warning, I’m gonna cover it too.

This is an Icelandic film about married sheep farmers who spend their days tending their flock. During a busy day of birthing sheep, one particular lamb comes out… different. They don’t act surprised… more delighted as they take this critter into their home, swaddle it, and place it in a crib. What’s going on here? Well… it takes a good forty-five minutes to confirm what I was suspecting… lamb/human hybrid.

Why? Why not??!

To be positive and sure about something, this film is beautiful. It really showcases some of Iceland’s gorgeous but barren terrain… the camera lingering on the mountains and the stony ground. It’s also a well acted film with Noomi Rapace pulling in a… down-to-earth performance? I mean… neither lead is tap-dancing but they aren’t pessimists either. They are just regular folk doing their job in a harsh environment. With a human lamb baby. That they treat like it’s a normal thing… and when another character shows up, he’s not distressed or particularly surprised though we do eventually learn he finds this situation odd.

Same.

I spent a good deal of this movie wondering if this was an elaborate joke. And since there was no comedy, maybe how serious the film is its own ouroboros of a joke. Or maybe someone saw an SNL sketch with a similar idea and said “I can do that without the jokes”.

But surely this is not a joke. I think. It’s a serious-minded film about family where one family member is, for unexplained reasons, part lamb. Why? I don’t know. Is there a greater meaning? I don’t know. Was there rising action and a conclusion that made sense? I don’t know. Maybe? I mean, it does end in a twisted logical way… but it does make me shrug my shoulders and say, “If you say so, movie” when it cuts to credits.

What is this movie? I don’t know. Did I enjoy it? I don’t know. Was I baffled and perplexed? Yep. Was I engaged? Yes. I can say that much for sure. Do I recommend this movie? Umm… I don’t know? Maybe if you like weird, almost experimental, slow-burn films that never quite catch fire?

Score: 76