The Hunt Film Review

The Hunt - "I want a word with Theo. Look into my eyes. Look me in the eyes. What do you see? Do you see anything? Nothing. There's nothing."

Danish screenwriter and director Thomas Vinterberg's eighth feature film which he co-wrote with Danish screenwriter and director Tobias Lindholm and co-produced, premiered In competition at the 65th Cannes International Film Festival in 2012. A Danish production which was shot on location in Denmark and produced by Danish producer and screenwriter Morten Kaufmann and Danish producer Sisse Graum Jørgensen. It tells the story about Lucas, a recently divorced middle-aged man who just began working at a kindergarten and who wishes to spend more time with his teenage son Marcus who lives with his mother. After starting a romance with a foreign woman named Nadja things begin looking up for Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen), but one day during a conversation with Grethe who runs the day-care center, he learns that a girl named Klara has told her an unsettling story about him. In a matter of days a spark is turned into a flame and a harmonic village into an irrational witch-hunt against one individual. 

One of the most moving pictures of the year and needs to be seen by radical feminists worldwide, not all men are untrustworthy rapists and child molesters, and when accusations are made evidence needs to be the number 1 priority. Innocent until proven guilty. Finely and acutely directed by Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg, this instantly involving fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints, draws a profoundly heartrending portrayal of a little girl who after being unintentionally hurt by a well-liked man whom she has a childhood crush on, unknowingly and with only a few words incriminates him by expressing her anger to the head of the kindergarten. While notable for it's naturalistic rural milieu depictions. This somewhat romantic, at times humorous, atmospheric and tangible intrigue about family relations, friendship and irrevocable accusations, where a friendship is tested, a hunter becomes the hunted and the question of guilt transforms ordinary people into paranoid savages is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, subtle character development, mysterious characters, brilliant writing, the tailor-made though distinct and accomplished acting performances by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, who is definitely at a high point in his career, recently starring in the hit show "Hannibal" & winning best actor at Cannes film festival for his brilliant performance in "The Hunt" 

It's an unflinching drama where a mans life is ripped from his hands, his world implodes and one little lie from a hurt little girl ruins everything. It is not a story told tenderly, it shows you just how soul destroying this innocent mans journey is, but its thrilling at the same time because it is so unpredictable, I had no idea how this tale would end which is the way films should be made. The cast is by and large unknown to me but they are fantastic, doesn't matter how large the role they nail it. It's haunting, touching & thought provoking but most of all very recommendable and a must see. Please go out and see "The Hunt" 5/5