The sudden death of a husband; a catalyst for pursuing justice for an entire community. In Icelandic director Grímur Hákonarson’s newest film “The County” Inga is overcome with necessity to disarm and dismantle the corrupt monopoly that looms over her small community.
Within the frame of a vast and desolate agrestic town, farmers Igna (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) and husband Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson) work tirelessly to stay financially afloat, endlessly fighting off bankruptcy. The two seemingly share a deep sense of camaraderie with their neighbouring farmers, as they each sit within the same ranking of capitalistic industrialization.
All who live and work within this small community dedicate themselves to a supply and demand chain overseen by a local co-operative. This co-operative ensures that each farmer’s goods provide them with mutual benefits; when subscribing to the co-operative you are given access to discounts at community run grocers and are eligible for loans. The downfall of this arrangement being that you must buy directly from the co-operative, regardless of their inflated costs. Because of this agreement many of the farmers struggle to allocate enough funds to purchase needed supplies to keep up with the co-operative’s product demands. Feeling overworked, seeking some kind of short-cut and financial relief, a few farmers begin to drift from the co-operative’s market, attempting to outsource. It is from these actions that the co-operative’s true colours begin to appear, especially those of co-op leader Eyjólfur (Sigurður Sigurjónsson) when he begins to blackmail and threaten those who are disloyal to the co-op.
Reynir, a wholesome and dedicated worker, and advocate of the co-op, has his livelihood threatened by Eyjólfur, and falls victim to his blackmailing scheme. Under the pressure to maintain his allegiance to Eyjólfur, he breaks, resulting in his untimely death—leaving Igna behind to bare the burden of a massive debt. When her children ask her what she is planning to do next, her response is that she “hasn’t given it any thought” this moment of introspection provokes a daunting observation of her future, as Igna sits with her family, unsure of what’s to come of her home, her land and her livelihood, the community around her continues its movement as if nothing has happened. Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir’s engrossing performance of Igna, from a focused worker, mourning widower and passionately persistent advocate for justice, shapes the entirety of the film. It is in all the decisions Igna makes that alters the status quo of her small community, forcing them all to either unite or be divided.
After realizing the weight that the co-op puts on the shoulders of the average worker, how the farmer’s efforts are not proportionally rewarded, and how under Eyjólfur reign they are doomed to remain financially dependent on the co-op, Igna begins to rebel. Taking to Facebook Igna writes an article exposing the co-op, calling them a corrupt organization, expelling their facade of being a unifying democratic collective, relabeling them as a mafia. Fearful of the wrath that the co-op may unleash on anyone who actively believes Igna’s accusations, or comes forward with similar experiences, those in the community begin to ostracize Igna. Rather than retreating and becoming dejected by her new position as the town’s outcast, Igna instead demands change, pushing to unify her community to stand up against the co-op, knowing that they too secretly feel her anguish.
Grímur Hákonarson uses Igna’s call for the justice of her small community, who is being extorted by their own town’s corrupt co-op, as an exposé of the real life Icelandic business “Kaupfélag Skagfirðinga”. In an interview with “The Guardian” Hákonarson explains that he had originally planned to create “The County” as a documentary, but had difficulty getting citizens to speak on the issue. He explains the reality of Kaupfélag Skagfirðinga by saying “It’s supposed to be owned and controlled by the people. But they’re behaving as capitalists,”; similarly to that of the co-op in his fictionalized community in “The County”.
Using the stunning landscapes of Iceland, the powerful performance of Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, and commentary with the guise of dark comedy, “The County” is able to compel an awakening; one that realizes the importance of fighting for one’s freedom and justice against corrupt capitalistic corporations.
Score: C+
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.