Land and Sons

The title tells it all - generations of hill farmers struggling to force an existence from the unyielding land, and getting ripped off by the co-operative movement set up to help them. Relationships made with sheepdogs last longer than those with women. Yet for all the bleakness (rainswept landscapes) and the occasional awkwardness in performance and editing, this is an honourable first feature on the familiar theme of country boy drifting to big city. It may not do for Iceland what The Harder They Come did for Jamaica, but it recommends itself for its unusual setting and modest ambitions.