This film is truly an exotic experience for an Australian. The story begins during an Icelandic autumn, on the wind-swept, grass-tufted floor of a valley, with a forbidding backdrop of bare hills. In the foreground, two sheep farmers, brothers and bachelors, who have not spoken to each other for 40 years, live on adjacent farms. Each tends lovingly to their separate flock. Their predictable, muted existence is suddenly shattered, when one of the brother's flock is infected with an incurable and contagious disease. The relevant government authority requires that the flocks be slaughtered, to prevent the disease spreading to other flocks, outside the valley. Ominously, winter darkness, accompanied by snow and ice blizzards blot out the landscape as the brothers co-operate with each other in an attempt to save some of the breeder sheep from the clutches of authority.
The story unfolds in a series of subtle, humorous incidents involving the thawing of the brothers' relationship and the threat of discovery of the surviving sheep by government representatives. The beautifully crafted ending remains with you for weeks after you've seen the film - the mark of an outstanding film.
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