The KimStim Collection, with domestic sales and distribution
support provided by Icarus Films, announced this past week that Ethiopian writer/director
Yared Zeleke’s award-winning Lamb will be released on DVD on
Sept. 6.
With Lamb, one is immediately reminded of
those wonderful, heart-tugging films that Disney used to make … The Incredible
Journey, Old Yeller and Big Red (to name just a few)
immediately spring to mind. Instead of
a faithful dog (or cat), this beautifully told story is more akin to director
Irving Rapper’s 1956 film, The Brave One (a restored Blu-ray
edition was recently released by VCI Entertainment).
Ephraïm (Rediate Amare) is a young boy living in a remote
village in Ethiopia who has just one friend in the whole world, a lamb … that’s
right a sheep, good for wool and, ah, good for eating. When his mother dies his world his turned
upside down.
His father heads to Addis Ababa to find work and is unable
to care for him, so he goes to live
with relatives and with him goes his friend, the lamb. It is as if Ephraïm has been dumped
into an alien environment … yes, he understands the words being spoken, but
life with his aunt Emama (Welela Assefa) and his uncle Solomon (Surafel Teka) is nothing like his home.
It would be easy to simply say that filmmaker Yared Zeleke’s
Lamb
is about a young boy and his pet trying to survive — especially the lamb — in
an unfriendly environment, especially when his uncle announces that Ephraïm
will be supplying the meal for a forthcoming feast.
Yes, that’s part of the story, but parallel to the clock
ticking in a life and death sense for his friend, is the story of his cousin Tsion (Kidist Siyum), who is
literate and somewhat educated (by Ethiopian standards) and is under
pressure to continue the traditional ways by getting married.
While these stories play out, Zeleke takes the time to
introduce Western eyes to his culture and the land of Ethiopia. Little vignettes are mixed with stunning
visuals (cinematography by Josée Deshaies — twice nominated for César Award for
Best Cinematography: Saint Laurent and L'Apollonide)
as both Ephraïm and Tsion
struggle to overcome what seems to be inevitable.
Lamb is presented in Amharic with
English subtitles.
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