The Hunt

A film that is hard to describe has to be seen. Only The Shining, my favourite film ever, has made me feel this “cold” when the end credits started rolling. A harrowing experience that may tamper with the laws of real probability to its emotional advantage at times, but the way it repeatedly pours boiling water on the viewer, and leaves them standing outside in the freezing cold is truly unprecedented. I don't know any other film that can so amazingly adapt the audience's emotions to the main character's depressive feelings and that makes the audience actively react to every twist and turn, laughing, cursing, crying... I feel a little bitter towards Thomas Vinterberg and all the other actors for having sweated through and through my least cheap t-shirt and sweatshirt, but otherwise I send them my admiration and endless praise. This review is intentionally shallow because to tinker more thoroughly with something so perfect and effective seems undignified to me. (13/04/2013)

I admit, I don't like films made in the style of Dogme 95 - just like any other dogma, they limit possibilities and narrow the space for cinematic expressions. The Hunt represents a rare case where it works, and thanks to its exceptionally strong theme, we don't have to deal with the set or the language of cinema. For the movie experience, only he, his work, and his friends are enough. Nothing is and can be the same as before. Apparent certainties collapse like a house of cards, and an uncertain future remains, along with the certainty that one can only rely on oneself. Thomas Vinterberg carefully constructs his drama, building it on solid foundations and portraying his characters convincingly psychologically. From the heated clash in the church, where one would expect the scene to end with an uncompromising fight behind the church gates, the previously flawlessly functioning machinery begins to stutter somewhat. I don't believe in miraculous happy endings, even tainted by a lonely avenger. Public opinion is much quicker with its judgments than justice, and it doesn't care about the presumption of innocence. It doesn't carry out the rehabilitation of its victims, and it doesn't shy away from spreading the wildest rumors extensively. If it goes that far, there is no way back. The more passionately you defend yourself, the more suspicious you will appear to those around you. Guilt can be proven, but innocence cannot. In real life, the only solution is burning bridges and moving to an anonymous foreign environment. Sometimes retreat can mean a bitter victory. To elaborate on the fact that Mikkelsen represents one of the greatest acting talents of the current European scene would be to state the obvious. Despite certain shortcomings, I don't hesitate to give this film the highest rating. Overall impression: 90%. (15/04/2015)

This belongs to the subgenre of dramas I don't really like because discovering how hateful people can be is something I encounter every day. Fortunately, Thomas Vinterberg's provincial resentment goes far in terms of the credibility of the feelings on both sides, yet sadly he reaches them unbelievably quickly. It's as if the editor skipped several tens of minutes of gradually built tension and jumped from innocent fun to harsh threats. I understand the anger and helplessness that swept through the nursery and family homes, and I praise the tension of several specific scenes, but I am still overwhelmed by the sudden decline, especially since Lucas should have been everyone's favorite neighbor or acquaintance. And I can't help but complain about the lamentations, complaints, and sometimes even hatred of those who comment on the character of little Klara. All of you who wish her harm here either didn't understand the movie or are simply the same nature as a gang of self-proclaimed individuals. (17/06/2016)

Little Klara deserves an educational blow with an axe to the nape of her neck. The film can arouse the emotions of the viewer, mainly the negative ones, but it didn’t fascinate me as much as I wanted. In a couple of scenes the script felt overworked (for instance, how the testimony of a girl retold word for word by other people changes from "something indefinite" to a "clear accusation of harassment" - nice, but I felt the very purpose of it). The ending is strong, even though my horror-oriented self waited all the time for a proper exploitation “hunt”. (01/02/2013)

Pure genre matters with all of the pros (great work with actors, excellent atmosphere, accessibility in the best sense of the word) and cons (easy manipulativeness and calculation, quite gradual exposition). Vinterberg also refined the director's approach from Submarino and is definitely one of the best creators of mainstream drama who is able to sell simplicity without offensive banality. Watching a second time only confirmed for me the good work that the Danish filmmaker did - the scheme that many point out here, as well as the considerable archetypality of the protagonist's life situation (alienated from the polis for a sin he did not commit) is functionally reflected in the structure of the film and repeated motifs of "collective ritual" (cyclical framework of the year / initiation celebration in the form of a hunt / Christmas Eve in a small village). The Hunt thus refers more to something that is universal in human society and persists in spite of a specific era (I see no attempt to create artificial problems, the "north" has had a lot of chimeras in relation to children for a long time, which only strengthens the seemingly compact morality of the community). It is hard not to see a link to key dogmatic topics here - only the vision has completely changed. Vinterberg does not go as far as Trier in deliberately stripping the schemes - his last two films are mainly about the search for a decent testimony and finding surprisingly strong characters. Lucas is an enchanting character with an inner evolution, from hunted game to a moral memento that proudly looks into the eyes. And, with her intensity and detail, Annika Wedderkopp's acting performance is a small miracle. The Hunt is simply a Danish drama in a nutshell - admittedly schematic, yet taciturn at key moments, reflecting "an overly close and proper community" and its hidden demons. Paradoxically, it’s not an issue that you are one move ahead of the director - it's about the power of realization, not a moment of surprise (in this context, this year I am thinking of Petzold's great Barbara, who is built on the same principle). And that power is still amazing in my eyes. (07/07/2012)