By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Grímur Hákonarson
Starring: Alfrun Rose | Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir | Hannes Óli Ágústsson | Sigurður Sigurjónsson | Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson | Þorsteinn Bachmann
Original language title: Héraðið
Country: denmark, france, germany, iceland
Year: 2021
Running time: 92
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8390612/reference
Bob says: “A dairy farmer in a rural county of Iceland is sinking deeper into debt, and finds out that her husband, under duress, had been ratting out his neighbors when they went behind the back of the local farm co-op. In this community, crossing the co-op (which can be as simple as buying supplies from someone else) is like refusing the mob’s protection services. But this is not On the Waterfront. It’s far more subtle, and the Johnny Friendly analog might actually believe that what he’s doing is in everyone’s best interest. Then again…
“It always feels like a pretty heavy metaphor to see a farmer assist with the birth of a calf, and we get such a scene in The County. Toward the end of the film, we see a surprisingly large number of calves, which reminds us of the birth earlier in the film and expands on its meaning, and I want to avoid spoilers here, but that metaphor becomes pretty ironic.”
Michael says: “When Inga loses her husband abruptly and finds herself a widow left in debt with a dairy farm, part of a town-wide collective, to run, she feels the weight of her grief and her responsibility. But when additional revelations about her husband’s death come to late, she nearly breaks, but rallies and decides that resistance is the perfect balm for grief. Thus begins a David & Goliath tale, where Inga takes on the uncaring, wealthy director of the Collective that forbids any members to purchase goods from anyone outside the collective, despite the cost savings, and owns liens on most of the farms in the town as well. Inga won’t put up with it, and by her actions she inspires a movement throughout the County that threatens the inviolate power of the Collective.
We’ve had a series of whimsical or dramatic Icelandic films center on women recently, frump the funny, yet biting film WOMAN AT WAR, to the dramatic, original, and finely constructed AND BREATHE NORMALLY. Ultimately there is something lacking in THE COUNTY, and it’s hard to pinpoint just what’s missing. It hits all the right notes, and Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir puts in a fine acting job as Inga. Writer/director Hákonarson has put out strong work as well, with his earlier film RAMS being a much appreciated film. Yet I wanted more from THE COUNTY… either the whimsy or the originality of the afore-mentioned films? Either way, THE COUNTY gets 3 cats“