After the death of her dairy farmer husband, a middle-aged woman courageously sacrifices her livelihood to speak out against the corruption and injustice at work in her community in the audience-pleasing, humanist drama “The County.” Like writer-director Grímur Hákonarson’s previous film “Rams,” . The yin to that film’s yang, “The County” is full of feisty female energy and imagery, and sprinkled with rousing “you go girl!” comic moments. Niche arthouse play is a given for this appealing and endearingly modest tale.
Hard-working couple Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) and Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson) run Dalsmynni, a mom-and-pop dairy farm that has been in his family for generations. With money tight and their hours long, they haven’t been able to take a vacation for three years. At night, they are so fatigued that they can barely manage to mumble, “Did you call the inseminator?” or “Did you order the fertilizer?” before collapsing into bed.
Hard-working couple Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) and Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson) run Dalsmynni, a mom-and-pop dairy farm that has been in his family for generations. With money tight and their hours long, they haven’t been able to take a vacation for three years. At night, they are so fatigued that they can barely manage to mumble, “Did you call the inseminator?” or “Did you order the fertilizer?” before collapsing into bed.
- 9/8/2019
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
The devolution of a worker-owned entity into that which it was formed to combat probably occurs much faster than you’d expect. Things initially work like they should with successful profits and happy members. The establishment itself is also pleased because it sees little threat of anyone going outside its economic reach when the whole point of forming it was to get out from under the exorbitant costs of external resources. Vote an incoming director with greed in his/her heart that sees how good things are, however, and they’ll start finding ways to personally capitalize on that implicit harmony. Executive salaries are slowly raised, prices are gradually increased, and a new monopoly is eventually formed. And when members finally catch on, they unfortunately realize they’re too late to escape.
It’s at this point in the lifespan of one such co-op that writer/director Grímur Hákonarson introduces...
It’s at this point in the lifespan of one such co-op that writer/director Grímur Hákonarson introduces...
- 9/7/2019
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
"It's time for us farmers to retake control." Yes! Fight the power! Screen Daily has debuted a festival promo trailer for the Icelandic drama titled The County, premiering at the Toronto Film Festival coming up next month. The film will screen in the Contemporary World Cinema section, after already opening in Icelandic cinemas this summer. From the acclaimed director of the film Rams, Grímur Hákonarson's The County is set in rural Iceland and follows Inga, a middle-aged cow farmer who loses her husband in an accident and must stand on her own two feet. She begins a new life on her own terms by fighting against corruption and injustice at the co-op in her community. Don't follow the herd! The film stars Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, and Sigurður Sigurjónsson. I'm really enjoying this outstanding trend of anti-corruption, power-to-the-people films from Iceland these days (see also: Woman at War). More of this.
- 8/22/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The County
Four years after his hit sophomore film Rams (2015), Iceland’s Grimur Hakonarson should at last be ready with his third feature, The County. His latest is an Icelandic-Danish-French-German co-production, comprised of Hakonarson’s returning producer Grimar Jonsson (also of 2017’s Under the Tree) plus co-producers Jamila Wenske and Sol Bondy. Starring Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Hakonarson also reunites with his Rams actors Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, who are also joined by Hinrik Ólafsson, Hannes Óli Ágústsson, Ragnhildur Gísladóttir and Denmark’s Jens Albinus.…...
Four years after his hit sophomore film Rams (2015), Iceland’s Grimur Hakonarson should at last be ready with his third feature, The County. His latest is an Icelandic-Danish-French-German co-production, comprised of Hakonarson’s returning producer Grimar Jonsson (also of 2017’s Under the Tree) plus co-producers Jamila Wenske and Sol Bondy. Starring Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Hakonarson also reunites with his Rams actors Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, who are also joined by Hinrik Ólafsson, Hannes Óli Ágústsson, Ragnhildur Gísladóttir and Denmark’s Jens Albinus.…...
- 1/4/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
German co-producer joins anticipated new project from Grimur Hakonarson, which will start shooting in late February.
Source: Cannes Film Festival
‘Rams’
Sol Bondy and Jamila Wenske’s Berlin-based One Two Films, has joined as a co-producer on Grimur Hakonarson’s The County, the Icelandic director’s anticipated follow-up to 2015 hit Rams.
One Two joins alongside German broadcaster Sr/Arte.
Grimar Jonsson of Iceland’s Netop Films is the lead producer, with partners Profile Pictures of Denmark, Haut et Court of France and now One Two of Germany. Backers include the Icelandic Film Centre, Danish Film Institute, Nordisk Film + TV Fond and Sr/Arte.
As with Rams, Jan Naszewski’s New Europe will handle sales. Distributors already on board are Sena in Iceland, Scanbox for Scandinavia and Haut et Court in France.
The County will start shooting in late February in the countryside of northern Iceland, for delivery in early 2019.
The story is a drama set in rural Iceland...
Source: Cannes Film Festival
‘Rams’
Sol Bondy and Jamila Wenske’s Berlin-based One Two Films, has joined as a co-producer on Grimur Hakonarson’s The County, the Icelandic director’s anticipated follow-up to 2015 hit Rams.
One Two joins alongside German broadcaster Sr/Arte.
Grimar Jonsson of Iceland’s Netop Films is the lead producer, with partners Profile Pictures of Denmark, Haut et Court of France and now One Two of Germany. Backers include the Icelandic Film Centre, Danish Film Institute, Nordisk Film + TV Fond and Sr/Arte.
As with Rams, Jan Naszewski’s New Europe will handle sales. Distributors already on board are Sena in Iceland, Scanbox for Scandinavia and Haut et Court in France.
The County will start shooting in late February in the countryside of northern Iceland, for delivery in early 2019.
The story is a drama set in rural Iceland...
- 1/17/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Though it may seem like there are fewer and fewer milestones in the world of film, look no further than “Autumn Lights,” the first independent American-Icelandic co-production both shot and completed in Iceland. In the film, young American photographer David (played by newcomer Guy Kent) is on assignment in a remote Icelandic community. One day, he discovers a deserted crime scene and becomes implicated in a local investigation, forcing him to remain in the town. While he’s there, he crosses paths with an intriguing Italian woman (Marta Gastini) who’s living with her Icelandic husband (Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson) in the countryside. As his fascination with the couple intensifies, he finds himself enscsonced in their lives. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Oscilloscope Dates ‘Girl Asleep,’ 26 Aries Sets First Theatrical Release And More
The film is written and directed by Angad Aulakh, and is his feature-length debut.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Oscilloscope Dates ‘Girl Asleep,’ 26 Aries Sets First Theatrical Release And More
The film is written and directed by Angad Aulakh, and is his feature-length debut.
- 8/15/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
The UK’s revived Icon Film Distribution is adding to its release slate with four pick-ups from Cannes. Ifd acquired Jc Chandor’s A Most Violent Year with Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain; Equals by Drake Doremus with Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart; The Legend Of Barney Thompson starring Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone and Emma Thompson; and It Follows, the horror pic from David Robert Mitchell that ran in Critics’ Week. Ifd is showing itself a savvy buyer and recently released animated feature Postman Pat: The Movie which has grossed over $4M in its first 10 days. Icelandic producers Davíd Óskar Ólafsson and Árni Filippusson, exec producers on David Gordon Green’s Prince Avalanche, are moving forward with their first English-language drama, Autumn Lights. The film marks the feature directorial debut of Angad Aulakh who wrote the screenplay. Newcomer Guy Kent is starring as a young American photographer on assignment in...
- 6/4/2014
- by NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor
- Deadline TV
Paid to do the unenviable, Finnbogi (Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson) and Alfred (Hilmar Guðjónsson) spend their weekdays painting the markings on a deserted road in a remote part of Iceland. With limited company and provisions, and personalities that quite often clash, the duo are forced to live out their lives in a confined space, whether it be the loneliness, their personal lives, or the excitement of the weekend’s freedom. Foreseeably, this results in moments of hostility, amusement and affinity.
Simplicity is key here as writer and director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson constructs an intimate snapshot into the two men’s lives, battling hardships in the remote terrain. The action may be limited, but it’s through the interplay between these two characters, the part brotherly, part enemy relationship they share and how they each cope with their solitude that brings Either Way into its own.
With a script that feels improvised,...
Simplicity is key here as writer and director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson constructs an intimate snapshot into the two men’s lives, battling hardships in the remote terrain. The action may be limited, but it’s through the interplay between these two characters, the part brotherly, part enemy relationship they share and how they each cope with their solitude that brings Either Way into its own.
With a script that feels improvised,...
- 6/21/2012
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
While we were all busy lamenting the fact that David Gordon Green has given up making interesting indie films in favor of dumb comedies and arguing about whether or not his remake of Dario Argento’s Suspiria is a good idea or sacrilegious, he went and made a new movie without even telling us about it. The nerve! And turns out, not only does it sound like his new film is going to be a return to smaller, more interesting storytelling, but it’s also going to be a preview of what it looks like when he takes a foreign film and adapts it. Green’s new project is called Prince Avalanche, but it’s a remake of an Icelandic film from 2011 called Either Way. In the original, two men played by Hilmar Guðjónsson and Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson spend their summer painting lines on the roads that stretch into remote parts of northern Iceland and end up...
- 6/6/2012
- by Nathan Adams
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
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