Undescribable Perfection

Sorry, this movie sucks

Expected more

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

This film was outstanding. It's made by Thomas Vinterberg, the same director who also made Festen (1998), one of my favorite films of all time. Like Festen, The Hunt hits you like a kick straight to the gut. Mads Mikkelsen, like many others have pointed out, is outstanding. But to me the greatest performance comes from Annika Wedderkopp who plays the little girl Klara. Not one single beat is false. It's impossible to even tell she's acting, something which is a problem with a lot of child actors. This is the best child actor I have seen since the Japanese movie Nobody Knows (2004). It would be interesting to hear Vinterberg discuss how he was able to such an outstanding performance from a child that couldn't have been much older than 5-6 years when this movie was made. The Hunt echoes famous child abuse cases like the McMartins and Wee Care, and the amazing documentary Capturing the Friedmans (2002) also comes to mind. I have also read the court documents of other cases with similar characteristics, and the the child psychologist's interview with the little girl Klara is an amazingly spot on illustration of where these types of cases generally start to go haywire. Everyone means well, but soon enough start to put words into the child's mouth or interpret everything that the child says according to predetermined schemata. The interview sequence is fantastic, not at least thanks to Klara's immaculate performance. I watched The Hunt in 2018 in the wake of the #metoo mass hysteria, and although it might have been relevant when it was released in 2012, it's no less relevant now. On the contrary. It shows how easy it is for a man's life to be completely ruined, to lose everything due to accusations leveled at him. Because who wants to be the one to not get on the bandwagon and stand up for the supposed child molester or rapist in the name of rule of law and say "Hold on a minute, do we actually know what the truth is here before we condemn someone of an inexcusable crime"? The ending is perfect. It would have been very easy to Hollywood the ending, but luckily Vinterberg refrains from doing so. The very last sequence can be interpreted either literally or metaphorically. It's up to you. I have my own ideas, but I won't spoil anything. What an outstanding movie.

The story is a about a Nursery school teacher (Lucas) who gets falsely accused for sexual assault by one of his student (Klara). Lucas is an innocent man who trying to figure out life after divorce with his wife. And struggling to maintain a relationship with his teenage son who lives with his ex- wife, but the boy eventually decided to live with him. At that time Klara who is a really messed up kid (I don't blame her it's her parents and sibling fault) develops a crush on Lucas who was there for her in times of need even when her parents weren't. One day she puts a heart-shaped ornament into his coat pocket, then gives him a kiss on the lips. After Lucas rebuffs the kiss, Klara's feelings are hurt. Drawing on a memory of a pornographic picture her older brother showed her, she makes comments that lead the kindergarten director to believe Lucas indecently exposed himself to her. The director asks Klara leading questions, and the girl gives unclear testimony against Lucas. The adults in the community believe the director's story of abuse, dismissing Klara's later contradictions as denial.Lucas is shunned by the community as a paedophile and sexual predator. His life was miserable after this. That little girl ruined his life. But Lucas continues to be still nice to that kid even after what she did to him. Theo (Klara's dad/ Lucas's best friend) who was really pissed at his friend for what he did, later realises that Lucas was innocent. A year later, tensions in the community have lessened. The ending was quite vague, I can't really comment on it but I think it could have been better.

'The Hunt (2012)' tackles some heavy themes, telling the tale of a blameless man who's life is ruined by a false accusation of sexual abuse against a child, but it does so with finesse and always keeps its focus in the right places, never shying away from the tough subject matter but also never focusing too readily upon it. Of course, it helps that we as the audience know that no such act was ever committed, allowing for an almost heartbreaking tale of neighbour turning on neighbour and our somewhat inactive yet extremely empathetic protagonist trying to keep his life from spiralling totally out of control. The lead is deftly portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen in a rare, but well-fitting, non-villainous role. The piece is engaging, powerful stuff. 8/10

Just absolute breathtaking!! You can't sit back and relax - ur simply just glued to the screen for 1,5 hour! Absolute best movie from Mads Mikkelsen so far!!