Sometimes "horror" films are designed to make us scream, to scare us, to gross us out. Other times they are designed to unsettle us and often it is those which are my favourite of the genre. First time film maker Valdimar Johannsson has made a very unsettling film, one that will provide you with far more questions that it answers, and one that makes you question quite a bit of what you think.
He does this by not telling us anything. His characters rarely speak, communicating much without language, instead through looks and emotions, even if these communications are often under the surface. Rarely do we get to see exactly what is going on and are instead invited to feel what is being evoked. He has shown an incredible potential for visual story telling that makes me very excited to see what he will do next. His power for pulling strong feelings with just the tone he creates is remarkable.
He uses the landscape of Iceland to create a very palpable emotional response to his story. The film is stunningly beautiful and instills a chill into the audience that is appropriate for the story being told. As things are revealed, we get brought through a range of emotions which are often conflicting and confusing and I think that's a lot of what Lamb is about. It situates the experience of parenthood, with all its joys and fears and terrors, in a very uncomfortable place, forcing us to see it in ways we aren't used to and considering aspects we push to the side.
Lamb ends without providing us clear explanation, but leaving us a whole lot of feelings. Lamb might be a slow burn but it is also a gut punch. It is a strong debut for a film maker that should be on your radar.
Lamb
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson
Director: Valdimar Johannsson
Writers: Sjon, Valdimar Johannsson
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