Director:
Icelandic director Grímur Hákonarson whose best known film the 2015 RAMS that won the top prize at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section returns with a female protagonist film. An Icelandic woman takes on the corruption of her local co-op and the outdated, exploitative system that supports it. Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) has always questioned the slavish devotion of her husband, Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson), to the co-op, even as the co-op’s debt has spiralled out of control and their prices remain much higher than those of their competition.
When disaster strikes, Inga decides to openly take action against the co-op via social media. As her campaign progresses, she soon finds out just how low her adversary is willing to go. Themes of the underdog versus the establishment make good small movies like THE CASTLE ( a farmers fights for his house to be bought over for a new airport runway, women seeking unionization NORMA RAE, MADE IN BANGLADESH) and THE COUNTY is no exception.
Iceland like most Scandinavian countries has been admired for their advancements and the film shows an uglier seedier side of it, like the harsh conditions Icelanders face for their land. Hákonarson’s uncompromising film ends with a realistic ‘unhappy’ ending that makes his film even more effective in getting his message across.
Festival Reviews 