Icelandic humor. Could it become a thing? It seems possible in the wake of Of Horses of Men, a supremely droll movie that weaves together a collection of equine-related anecdotes. Like the human population of that northerly island, the horses of Iceland come out of a limited gene pool. They don’t look quite like other horses, with their short legs and jumpy gallop—a visual joke that director Benedikt Erlingsson uses for repeated effect. The opening section lets us know the kind of mortifying black humor we’re in for: A prideful trainer (Ingvar E. Sigurdsson), out for a public ride, must sit on the back of his immaculate mare while the animal is unexpectedly mounted by a randy local stallion. The latter has unexpectedly broken loose from its pen, much to the embarrassment of his owner (Charlotte Bøving)—though her reaction may be colored by the fact that she harbors some lusty feelings for the proud rider herself. In fact, she may be inspired to try something similar herself, a little later in the movie.
Other characters include a local drunkard who “rides” his horse out to a Russian cargo ship in search of vodka; an immigrant who gets lost in the snow with only his horse as shelter; and a crank whose habit of cutting through barbed wire to exert his right-of-way catches up with him in a grotesque manner. These folks mingle in their rural area—in fact, they’re constantly spying on one another, as the reflections off their binoculars regularly remind us. Along with this dark comedy, Of Horses and Men offers rare information on how to corral horses in the wild and how to survive a frozen night. (The part about swimming on the back of a horse to a passing ship is probably not sound practical advice, however.)
Each vignette begins with a close-up of a horse’s eye, as though suggesting that the film’s deadpan style might be an animal’s resigned way of watching the absurdities of human endeavor. The way Erlingsson frames the action supports this: His camera watches the big moments from a distance, allowing us to savor the ridiculousness of the situations. Incidentally, rest assured that no horses were harmed in the making of this movie, according to the end credits. The same can’t be said for the human characters, who are on the receiving end of some well-deserved satire.
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OF HORSES AND MEN Runs Fri., April 10–Thurs., April 16 at Grand Illusion. Not rated. 80 minutes.
