Rams

Grímur Hákonarson’s wonderful 2015 Icelandic dramedy Rams feels like a distinct product of a singular culture — and not something that would tonally or even narratively translate well to a different setting.

But in the hands of director Jeremy Sims and screenwriter Jules Duncan, the tale of feuding sheep-farmer brothers and their responses to a malicious disease threatening their flocks unexpectedly finds an apt home in Western Australia, resulting in a respectful and respectable remake.

Though their names aren’t nearly as fun to hear or say as Gummi and Kiddi Bodvarsson’s are in the original, Grimurson siblings Colin (Sam Neill) and Les (veteran Aussie actor Michael Caton) make for fitting grizzled analogs half a world away, and both performers are a joy to behold.

Duncan faithfully establishes the brothers’ ongoing 40-year-old grudge and its lack of communication, save for written messages passed via the collar of Colin’s dog between their comically close houses, and each man’s efforts to sustain their respected family tradition of breeding Kalgan Horn sheep — a fictionalized version of Dorset Horns.

Local color from the Grimursons’ sheep-farming neighbors plus cinematographer Steve Arnold’s knack for capturing the surrounding scenery help make this Rams stand apart, but the adaptation otherwise hits the beats of Hákonarson’s film as the community attempts to make sense of a future without Kalgan Horns due to an outbreak of Ovine Johne's disease.

Regardless, the story’s humor, heart, and occasional heartbreak are likely to play well for both viewers familiar with the original and those who’ve yet to experience the material, which eventually receives its most creative spin in the form of encroaching seasonal brushfires that all of the sheep-farmers come out to combat.

As the Grimursons battle the blazes, short-sighted government officials, and just maybe their own prejudices, the brothers’ appealing dynamic vaults Rams into the ranks of The Upside and Secret in Their Eyes and brings a new seemingly ill-fated yet ultimately personality-rich English-language remake into the fold.

Grade: B-plus. Rated PG-13. Available to rent via grailmoviehouse.com

(Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films)