Lamb Film Difficulty Ranking: 3
Beautiful scenery, beautifully shot, Lamb could be a travel commercial for the Ethiopian tourist board. But the beautiful landscape can’t be fully enjoyed by Ephraim and his family as they’ve run out of food. The worst of each of them shows itself on film as they struggle to get by – will Ephraim’s beloved lamb survive?
From: Ethiopia, Africa
Watch: Trailer, Amazon Prime, Kanopy, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: Pather Panchali, Rams, Abouna
Why Watch Lamb?
- For the beautiful cinematography helped by beautiful scenery.
- To subvert gender stereotypes.
- If you like lambs and sheep.
- Learn to cook lentil samosas and injera.
The Breakdown
The first few minutes of the film establish Ephraim’s relationship with his beloved lamb. The film opens with a close up of his hand stroking the lamb’s fur, feeding it stolen maize, and walking with it across stunningly beautiful landscape. Ephraim loves his lamb and the opening makes sure you know that.
Right after we meet Ephraim and his lamb, we see the similarly close relationship between Ephraim and his father. Just as he fed the goat, Ephraim feeds his father and hugs him in bed. There’s obviously a strong paternal bond.
However, unfortunately for Ephraim, it looks like the two things he loves – his lamb and his father will disappear. The lack of food, means that Ephraim’s father has to leave for the capital city to try and earn a living for the two of them. Before he leaves for the city, he leaves Ephraim with his uncle and gifts him with Ephraim’s lamb to compensate. Just like that, Ephraim loses his supportive father, and ownership of his best friend, the lamb.
Subverting Gender Roles
Ephraim doesn’t get along well with his uncle. As his uncle is a farmer, he expects Ephraim to help him out in the fields. But unfortunately for him, Ephraim is a weakling. He can’t drive the oxen and he’s useless at digging. Instead of helping his uncle, he’d rather be cooking with his wife and mother like a ‘sissy’. No matter how many times Ephraim tries to help by cooking, his uncle always beats him for acting like the girls. He must become a man.
Whilst the focus is on Ephraim, it’s not just him that is forced to conform to gender roles in the patriarchal household. His cousin (his uncle’s daughter) is expected to cook and help take care of her baby niece, but she would rather read newspapers and secretly attend political gatherings in the local town before going to college. She shares what she learns with her family – like recommending taking her sick niece to the doctor – but she’s always put down as crazy. Her father tells her to dream of marrying a rich man to carry her off to the city, which isn’t what she wants as she’s a rare feminist. But unfortunately for the both of them, she ends up following a man to the city just to escape marriage at home.
The Beautiful Scenery
The first thing you notice about the scenery is how beautiful it is. It’s a perfect travel showcase of Ethiopia – plenty of green hills with endless views. But the landscape shots are not just there for you to admire. They’re included to show how green and fertile the land appears. To show that despite the famine plaguing Ephraim’s family and the local village, there is an abundance of food. Similar to the failure to distribute food in Malawi as shown in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, in Lamb the director uses the green landscapes to subtly point the finger at the government which exports Ethiopian food whilst it’s farmers are starving.
Ephraim’s Selflessness
Maybe you watched this movie without feeling much sympathy for lonely Ephraim. You might have thought he was too quiet, that he didn’t help himself, and shouldn’t have hidden money from the family. But take a step back and simply take a look at him. Look at his legs. They’re unmissable. Every time they are shown, you are reminded at how scrawny he is. They’re like matchsticks. Maybe you think that he’s so thin because he doesn’t help in the farm. What you might not notice is that he’s so skinny because he never eats. Whilst everyone else in the film complains about the lack of food, Ephraim never moans that he is hungry. His mother died of hunger, but he still soldiers on without complaining that he is starving when it obviously plays on his mind. It’s only in the final shot of his auntie feeding him, that you realize you’ve never seen him eat more than a handful of grain. His selflessness is overlooked by his family and the audience even though the signs of his undernourishment is obvious.
What to Watch Next
Firstly, if you’re looking for more of the same, and for a movie that would have partly inspired Lamb, watch Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali.
Or if you want to continue with the theme of boys/men and their beloved animals, check out the sheep loving farmers from Iceland in Rams, an Italian and his dog in Umberto D. You could even check out John Wick to find out what a man would do if their precious pet is taken from them.
For more films about boys who have lost their mothers, check out Golden Kingdom, Song of the Sea, and The Rocket.
Or if you want to watch more films about kids coming of age in Africa, then I’d strongly recommend watching Abouna – which follows two brothers in Chad – or even Netflix’ Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
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