Review of The Hunt

Sometimes children lie. Sometimes good people give in to hysteria, and lose all sense of reason. Sometimes they destroy innocent lives. The Hunt (aka Jagten) is the latest offering from Denmark that will knock you sideways. Forget the thrill of TV dramas The Killing, Borgen and The Bridge, Thomas Vinterberg's film is a shocking, harrowing experience that will affect you profoundly and will live in your mind for a very long time. The Hunt is for those who don't need to 'enjoy' a film to regard it as valid and who are not afraid to step into the darkness of the injustice and judgment of which we are all capable. More than that, it is a film for those who stupidly believe there is no smoke without fire. Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) is a lonely teacher, divorced from his wife, kept apart from his son and devoted to the young children in his care at the nursery and within the community. He is a genuinely good man who has earned the respect of his peers, the love of a new girlfriend and the trust of the children who leap out of hedges to wrestle him and be chased around the playground by him. Klara (Annika Wedderkopp), the daughter of his best friend, Theo (Thomas Bo Larsen) has an innocent, childish crush on Lucas when two situations occur in quick succession. Firstly she is exposed to an explicit pornographic image and, secondly, Lucas gently chastises her for inappropriate behavior towards him. With a fertile imagination, childish indignation and no comprehension of the consequences, Klara makes an accusation against Lucas and his world implodes. For only the fifth time so far this year, I believe I have witnessed a near-perfect film. The Hunt is complete due to the tight screenplay, the sensitivity of Vinterberg's direction and the performances from principal and peripheral actors alike that are always absorbing and frequently astounding. Mikkelsen must certainly be the focal point of any review. His performance as Lucas causes the stomach to tighten and the back tingle as we wonder How would I react? In much the same way that Colin Firth's George crumpled when receiving the news of his partner's death in A Single Man, so Mikkelsen's Lucas is silently crushed as he is told that accusations have been made. Lucas suffers the physical and emotional wounds of slander and revenge for an act he cannot conceive and of which he has less knowledge than those who condemn and attack him. Equally, both Larsen and Anne Louise Hassing as Klara's parents carefully unwrap the turmoil any parent would suffer upon hearing their young child has suffered sexual abuse. It is a challenge not to yell at the screen "Don't be so stupid," or to scream expletives at Grethe (Susse Wold) the head teacher who loses her grip on both duty and reason and germinates the hatred and judgment that follow. As Lucas' son, Marcus, Lasse Fogelstrøm gives a heartfelt performance segueing seamlessly from courage to hurt to desperation and anger and his distress is a warning to those given over to rumours. The surprise, no, the absolute shock, with the casting is Wedderkopp. In an adult with twenty years experience on the big screen it would be a breathtaking performance; that this is the debut of a young child is staggering. She is entirely believable as the girl with the vivid imagination and understandable lack of foresight who is lead by over-enthusiastic adults and suffers her own punishment of confusion alone. The tragedy within The Hunt is explicit and unavoidable. The external tragedy is that it will probably not feature on most To See lists because it is both foreign and that the explosions are emotional rather than physical. Although it is Denmark's entry for Best Film in a Foreign Language for the Oscars, I suspect both Mikkelsen and Vinterbeg will be completely overlooked in their own right as with the principals of Beasts of the Southern Wild. Thank goodness for the BAFTAS and Mark Kermode! The events depicted in The Hunt are utterly horrific. Don't sit in front of the screen expecting a light, easy, thought provoking flick. I emerged numb, angry, helpless and terrified. But for one careless or cruel comment, it could happen to me. Or you.