Thursday, May 30, 2013

The Hunt

“It’s always assumed that children tell the truth. And unfortunately, very often they do.”

These two sentences are the central, terrifying theme of the Danish film, The Hunt. They are spoken midway through the picture, long after we, the audience, know the truth. Long after characters’ lives have been damaged due to fractured truth and irrevocable heresy. They are spoken after we know so much, yet have no idea what’s coming.

Part of the beauty of The Hunt is how seamlessly it establishes the plight of its main character, Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen). When we first meet Lucas, we meet an honest man. A man who is loved by the young children he teaches, loved by the son he rarely gets to see, loved by the burly men of his town – an all around nice guy. A man amongst men. A relationship is developed, that of Lucas and Klara, the daughter of Lucas’ friend. Although Klara, who I surmise is around age 5, has an evident crush on Lucas, his intentions remain noble and earnest.
But Klara feels slighted. And, like many neglected 5-year-olds, Klara lies for the sake of lying. But this lie is no prank. It’s a lie that, once spoken, has the power to quickly ruin lives. It has the power to haunt a man forever, truth be damned.

After Klara tells a school official that Lucas showed himself to her (you know… showed himself), Klara’s claims take on a snowball affect that sends the entire town into a frenzy, the extent of which, I dare not reveal.

From here, The Hunt turns into a grueling tale of a life fractured. The entire time I watched this film, I was reminded how easily most any man could fall victim to Klara’s claims. Once such words are spoken, how is a man like Lucas supposed to free himself? Even if his innocence is affirmed, he’ll always be that guy. That guy who might have molested the children (yes, the charges against Lucas soon become plural) of a small town. That guy who will always be whispered about. That guy who did that thing.
But there’s another, arguably more mortifying side to The Hunt, and that is director Thomas Vinterberg’s vicious attack on society. What does it say of us when we are so quick to judge? But, on the flip side, how can we not judge a man accused of such horrible things? It’s an impossibly frustrating dichotomy, one that forces you to acknowledge the intentions of everyone involved. There were times when I was furious at Lucas. I didn’t like his modest stance on his own innocence, or the way he harshly treated the few people who still believed in him. But then I tried to put myself in his shoes; and hell, how can I possibly gauge how I’d react?

Mads Mikkelsen is a talented actor who, despite exceptional turns in After the Wedding, Valhalla Rising and The Royal Affair, is still best known for smashing Daniel Craig’s balls in Casino Royale. Mikkelsen won Best Actor at last year’s Cannes Film Festival for his work in The Hunt, and it is obvious why. Although I often found myself frustrated by Lucas’ actions, I wanted nothing more than to follow him. I wanted to look him in the eye and say, “You’re still a man, you’ll get through this,” even if I didn’t know it to be true.
Midway through the movie, the most peculiar thing happened. With two sharp lines of dialogue (which, incidentally, are spoken in the same speech I quoted at the beginning of this review), I found myself questioning my beliefs. For the briefest of moments, I switched to the other side and thought, “Oh, shit… what if these kids are telling the truth?” The scene occurs as Lucas’ best friend describes to Marcus what the kids are saying about Lucas. “Apparently, all the children are telling the same story. They describe your basement, the wallpaper, the color of the sofa.”

If I was able to see myself at that exact moment, I’m sure my expression mirrored Marcus’, which was one of puzzlement and fear. What Marcus said next utterly floored me. That’s power. A

28 comments:

  1. I really need to rewatch this. I saw this last year in a film festival and it was my favourite. It is such a frustrating film to watch and usually I hate films in which children die but I really wanted someone to kill that little girl. And Mikkelsen was amazing. Also, it was a very good-looking movie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SO good looking. You know, I was so pissed at that little girl as well, but in an odd way, I could understand why she did it. Five year olds lie, and they have no idea how to judge the weight of their lives. The reaction of the parents was equally (if not more) infuriating.

      Delete
  2. I'm so glad you dug this! I think I like it a bit more than you (imo) but it's just such a powerful film and that last shot just gives me goosebumps whenever I think about it. I don't think anyone who watches this could walk away from it unscathed. Mikkelsen had established himself as a great actor in the films you mentioned above (among others - Adam's Apples and Open Hearts) I think with this role he has become one of my favorite actors working today! Like I said on your top 10 favorite male performances list, this is one that has stuck with me since I first watched it and I can recall all the various states of disbelief and rage while watching Lucas and man, if that isn't a sign of a fantastic performance I don't know what is. Thanks for reviewing this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for pushing me to watch it! It was incredible. Mikkelsen's performance was such a layered one - so much depth and complexity. I loved him in this. He should've been nominated for the Oscar, no question.

      Delete
  3. Great review! This sounds very interesting, and a little frustrating. I "saved" it on Netflix for when it comes out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It is very interesting and very frustrating. But remarkable. Hope you get to see it soon!

      Delete
  4. Nice Review! I have heard nothing but great things about The Hunt and Mikkelsen and your nod gets me even more excited for it. I have no idea if and when it's releasing but Really looking forward to watch it as soon as possible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I hope it gets a wide DVD release soon. People really need to see this one. It blew me away.

      Delete
  5. I really want to see this as I love Mads Mikkelsen and the fact that the film represents a return-to-form for Thomas Vinterberg who hadn't been making a watchable film since his breakthrough Festen back in 1997.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you'll really like this one man. I hope you have a chance to see it soon. Mikkelsen is a beast.

      Delete
  6. That's a wonderful review of a great movie, a strong contender for me to the title as best movie of 2013 (I count the Swedish release year when I make my top lists). I never doubted his innocence, not for a second. But I could see why his best friend reacted this way and how I possibly could have been the same. This is really the brilliance of this movie, how you can understand and see yourself in the "bad guys".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jessica! I'm so confused about when this movie was technically released. Someone just told me that it's eligible for Oscars this year, which is amazing. If that's the case, it'll definitely be one of my tops for 2013.

      And yeah, the brilliance of this flick is that it forces us to have that inner battle with ourselves.

      Delete
  7. I watched this 2 days ago and was floored by how powerful it was, such an unpleasant viewing experience when you see the injustice that happens to Lucas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hell yeah man. Fuckin' brutal. I watched it this morning and have been thinking about it all day. Insane.

      Delete
  8. Brilliant review Alex. This is very high on my watchlist, really looking forward to checking it out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks man! I highly recommend this one. It's a really stunner.

      Delete
  9. Were you lucky enough to have a theater playing this, or did you find it through an online venue?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Screener. My buddy has a ton left over from last year. He never even watched most of them. Damn shame.

      Delete
  10. So glad to read that you dig this film. I've wanted to see it for months, so I can't wait to check it out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's crazy good, and crazy intense. It'll frustrate you like mad.

      Delete
  11. I saw this film not so long ago and I'm still so furious I can't write proper review. The last time I was so ashamed of being a part of human race after the film was after Project Nim.

    While you are completely spot-on that the film doesn't really let you judge the townsfolk as they are all concern with the well being of children, I fucking hated those people either way. By the time they beat him up in the grocery store I kept praying he will kill all of them, Dogville-style.

    The worst one was the principal who didn't even investigate anything and just trusted the kid after that so called shrink conducted the biased interview. The fact she told the people in the village before properly investigating the case made me sick to my stomach. And the dog thing. Beyond despicable.

    Mikkelsen's work in this currently ranks as my Best Actor win of the year. The church scene was one of the best acted scenes I've seen in years. And it was so great seeing him play such a good guy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad this one hit you as hard as it hit me. You know, I'm not one to ever condone violence, but I couldn't help rooting for a Dogville-style wipe out as well. Those fuckin' people.

      Sadly, I think the depiction of the principal's reaction was pretty spot on to how it is in life a lot of times. When I was a newspaper man, a story broke that was nearly identical to this one. Except the accused was a vice principal of a high school, and he was accused of sleeping with a 13 year old girl. The principal of the school fucking BURIED this poor guy. The VP was fired and the court case began. The editor of my paper wrote four lengthy editorials proclaiming his innocence and the case was finally dropped. Thing is, anyone who knew anything about the case knew this guy was innocent. It was a 13 year old idiot looking for attention. Scary how quickly the public can turn on you.

      Delete
    2. I think it's because as species we are extremely impressionable. Add to that the stupidity and the lack of ability to analyze the facts that overwhelming majority has and it's a tragedy in the making.

      What is scary here is that Lucas could have been easily convicted by the court. Klara's lie started to evolve and in the end those people would back her up even knowing that most of the story isn't really true just because of the chance Lucas could have been guilty. While I always say child molesters should get the most severe punishment this film horrified me because it made me realize how easily an innocent man could have been (and many probably are) sent to prison.

      Delete
    3. I've always thought child molesters should receive the harshest punishment of the law. Fucking disgusts me. But you're right, The Hunt made me realize how easily people take the bait of this accusation. It's actually quite terrifying.

      Delete
  12. I remember when I saw this film at my Sunday Cinema Club and I was left shaking in my boots. Absolutely masterful film and really shows how biased adults are when it comes to children. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't even say there is a good or bad guy in this film since the adults that are accusing Lucas are cruel yet are blind sided by the girl's claims. Nothing is black and white.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nothing is black and white. Exactly. I've always felt that is kind of the point of the film. How well do we really know someone, and what are those being actually capable of doing? Really happy to hear you like this one so much. I really appreciated this film.

      Delete
  13. This is a high concept film with an uneasy (right terrifying) premise, great shot composition, an impeccable cast and one of the best performances I ever saw given by Mads Mikkelsen. This film deserved 12 dollars (maybe more). This film gets an A+. (My rating doesn't rely on my felling about the film but rather on the overall quality and the flaws I could notice. My top ten of the year rely on how much I love a film. I other words, this film won't be higher, in my top 10 of 2010s list, than Shame.)(Now I'm trying to see as many great films from every year of 2010s to complete my lists of 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and to make sure that the BEST films are in there. This film will get in my 2012 list because a) 2012 was kind of a shit year for films and b) I won't take the US release date for every film.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Such a good movie, and yes, so very terrifying. Even right up until that final scene. He'll never be safe, at least not in that damn town. Really happy to hear that you like it so much.

      Delete