Mjolk – Héraðið (2019)

Directed by: Grimur Hakonarson | 92 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann, Ævar Þór Benediktsson, Þorsteinn Gunnar Bjarnason, Daniel Hans Erlendsson, Hafdís Helga Helga Helgadóttirrik

It can’t be a coincidence. In the year that the farmers’ protests cannot be dispelled from the news in the Netherlands, two arthouse films with the same theme appear in the cinema in quick succession: a farmer’s fight against the cooperative to which the farm has been affiliated for many years. (European) farmers are having a hard time. That also automatically translates to the cinema. Mélanie Auffret’s French feel-good drama ‘Roxane’ focused on the male half of a peasant couple. The Icelandic drama ‘Mjólk’ (‘Héraðið’, or the international title ‘The County’) by Grímur Hákonarson, on the other hand, is about a tough peasant woman. After her husband’s death, she finds out that she has been living a lie for years. Then she takes a different tack.

‘Mjólk’ is a lot heavier than her French counterpart. The vast Icelandic landscape, from which the cold radiates, is certainly to blame. There is almost always a wool sweater or hat in the picture. The mountains, with an isolated farmhouse here and there, are covered with a thin white layer, patches of fog or relentless rain showers. But lead actress Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) doesn’t have it easy either. When her husband is still alive, she begs him to do things differently. “How long has it been since we were able to go on vacation?”

A period of mourning follows the tragedy. The outpouring of a friend who knows her husband’s closeness to the co-op turns Inga’s world upside down. Despite her grief, she finds the strength to protest against the cooperative. First via a post on Facebook, later she takes more drastic (and frankly less sympathetic) measures.

Whether Inga succeeds in overthrowing the cooperative in this rural drama can be predicted from the first moment that she rubs the mafia bosses against the hair. That is also not the attraction of this story, which continues along the usual route. What makes ‘Mjólk’ a tip is the strong interpretation of the lead actress. She portrays a resilient and energetic woman, but the emotions can still get the upper hand now and then. Arndís is the beating heart of the film. All the other characters (although some decent acting is also provided by them) are just filler. It’s a pity about that not very subtle last scene, in which Inga sings a song that is very much related to her current situation.