A widowed farmer begins a new life on her own terms by fighting against corruption and injustice in her community.
“The County,” a remarkable working-class tale, is the latest release from Dekanalog which specializes in distributing original Foreign-language films. Written and directed by Grimur Hákonarson, his anti-establishment plot focusing on labor issues resembles the quiet revolutionary films by Ken Loach.
The film opens with a cow birth, displaying the drudgery and precarious maneuvers used to bring the adorable creature into this world. Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) is a dairy farmer living in Northwestern Iceland on the edge of poverty. After her husband dies, she’s forced into a psychological battle with the Cooperative or Co-op, an organization that controls all of the businesses ordering farmers who they can or can’t sell their products to. Although the Co-op appears as a friendly democratic socialist organization, in reality, they’re just capitalist thugs looking to corner the market. Interestingly, this rural region of Iceland is the only place with a Co-op still in power. Hákonarson captures Inga’s hard work and grief with wide shots and extended takes, all framed with a realistic approach. Scenes of Inga trudging across the snowy ground or waking up next to an empty space on the other side of the bed are stirring.
After the Co-op begins pressuring Inga to just keep her head down and buy their products at inflated prices, she posts an article on Facebook comparing the organization to the Mafia. The article catches the eye of a reporter and her story makes the news which doesn’t sit well with Eyjólfur (Sigurður Sigurjónsson), the quietly menacing boss of the group. Inga begins to cause more trouble using everything within her means to protest the injustice.
Despite a somewhat typical emotional speech near the end, writer-director Grímur Hákonarson’s screenplay avoids tropes. He’s aware that monopolies are an issue and naturally exploit their workers. Most importantly, his display of workers uniting in solidarity is a beautiful thing.
In Theaters and Virtual Cinemas nationwide Friday, April 30th
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