María and Ingvar get along well enough on their remote Icelandic sheep farm, but the couple are haunted by an unspoken, ever-present sadness. The birth of a mysterious, but seemingly miraculous ‘gift’ from one of their ewes sees the couple greedily snatch at the prospect of joy.

Metaphorical on one level, yet poignantly relatable in terms of what it says about human relationships and our attitude towards nature, this tale is audaciously positioned within the tradition of Icelandic myth by debut director Jóhannsson. The uncanny sense of place and eternal summer light add a vital eeriness to his messed-up mix of emotional drama and the truly fantastic. As one character demands, ‘What the fuck is this?’ María and Ingvar believe it’s happiness. Mother Nature may not agree.