Annual Top Films Lists

Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2019: #63. The County – Grimur Hakonarson

Published on January 4, 2019

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 (Netop Films, Iceland; Profile Pictures, Denmark; One Two Films, Germany; Haut et Court, France), 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 (of Runar Runarsson’s Sparrows, 2015), 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. The film is lensed by DP Mart Taniel (Rainer Sarnet’s November, 2017). Hakonarson’s early shorts premiered in major festivals, such as 2004’s “Slavek the Shit” at Cannes and 2007’s “Wrestling” at Locarno. His 2010 debut Summerland didn’t travel far out of Iceland and 2015’s Rams won top honors out of Un Certain Regard at Cannes.

Gist: Hakonarson’s screenplay follows Inga (Egilsdóttir), a middle-aged cattle farmer forced to run the farm on her own after her husband dies in a car accident. As she begins a new life, she must face the ignorance and corruption which rules her corrupt countryside community. Hakonarson’s latest touches on similar themes of homophobia as his 2007 short “Wrestling.”

Release Date/Prediction: Hakonarson started production at the end of February 2018 in rural northern Iceland, aiming to be ready by early 2019, which would suggest we might see The County snag a slot in the Berlin competition.

Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.