The Hunt (2012)
Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son’s custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.
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10 films that influenced The Hunt
What critics say influenced The Hunt
As the town’s hysteria spreads like a contagion we’re reminded of past persecution tales, from The Children’s Hour, in which a spiteful student accuses two teachers of being lesbians (at a time when that was a much bigger deal than today), to Capturing the Friedmans, the unnerving documentary about a father and son accused of molesting computer students in their basement.
Crudely, if maybe helpfully, this drama about how a false accusation of child abuse destroys the life of a simple kindergarten worker could be dubbed The Children’s Hour meets Capturing the Friedmans.
Strong performances and tight visual construction disguise the fact we’ve seen this all before, from films that explore very similar themes (notably 2008’s Doubt, a more compelling and nuanced work) to films that share degrees of familiarity related to the persecution of innocent people including We Need to Talk About Kevin (2008), The Insider (1999) and Evil Angels (1988).
In John Patrick Shanley's marvellous 2008 film Doubt , we are never absolutely certain whether Philip Seymour Hoffman's popular, humane New York priest is a paedophile or Meryl Streep's vindictive nun is merely motivated by envy.
Strong performances and tight visual construction disguise the fact we’ve seen this all before, from films that explore very similar themes (notably 2008’s Doubt, a more compelling and nuanced work) to films that share degrees of familiarity related to the persecution of innocent people including We Need to Talk About Kevin (2008), The Insider (1999) and Evil Angels (1988).
While the fierce masses continue to ostracize their neighbor, the simple-minded Klara (like the innocent child in the Boris Karloff version of “Frankenstein,” but without the tragedy in that 1931 film) knocks on the door of the down-and-nearly-out Lucas with an offer to walk his dog, Fanny.
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There are echoes of Ian McEwan's novel (and later Joe Wright's film) Atonement in the childish accusation, and of Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs in the community's violent response.
Thomas Vinterberg’s Danish drama The Hunt (2012) is his best film since The Celebration and, no surprise, it mines similar themes and volatile emotions that are churned up the surface.
With echoes of the Danish filmmaker's 1998 drama The Celebration (a family reunion, allegations of sexual abuse), Vinterberg's new film won its star, Mads Mikkelsen, the award for best actor at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
It’s in this bucolic little retreat that director Thomas Vinterberg (“The Celebration”) creates a modern-day “Crucible,” a frighteningly plausible examination of how suspicion can spread through otherwise decent people.
21) and "The Hunt" -- the latest from Thomas Vinterberg, director of the modern masterpiece, "The Celebration" -- at 2 p.m. Sunday (Sept.
Danish director Thomas Vinterberg drew international attention with his anxious 1998 drama The Celebration, about a family reunion that deteriorates when one of the grown children publicly accuses his father of sexual abuse.
But unlike last year’s festival inclusion Michael, from Austrian director Markus Schleinzer, Jagten or The Hunt in my mother tongue, takes a more subtle approach to the considerably dangerous material, exploring lead character Lucas’ accusation as a harrowing situational horror that crawls under the audiences skin and which is profoundly successful as a slow-burning drama with a biting edge.
Yet even if director/co-writer Thomas Vinterberg doesn't generate the tension of "Notes on a Scandal" or fully connect Lucas' hunting hobby to the community's ruthless pursuit of their target, "The Hunt" lets viewers feel the frustration of a victim given no trust or genuine opportunity for defense.
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Duly praised for his breakout feature Festen (1998), Thomas Vinterberg’s career has since wobbled from mixed bag ( It’s All About Love ) to misfiring ( Dear Wendy ) to missed- UK-cinemas (Submarino).
And after a decade of ill-conceived experiments like It’s All About Love and Dear Wendy , it’s good to see him back in quasi-Dogme mode, focusing on intimate behavioral details in a heightened but fundamentally naturalistic setting.
Since then, the director has made two far shakier U.S.-set films: the dreadful anti-gun parable Dear Wendy and an endearingly inept futuristic noir-romance, It's All About Love (starring a pre-Homeland Claire Danes).
Vinterberg — who broke through with " The Celebration " (1998), which also dealt with child molestation, but whose arthouse cred was eroded by a couple of critical flops ("It’s All About Love," " Dear Wendy ") — has settled into being a capable director of actors.
Mikkelsen has appeared in mainstream cinematic efforts such as Quantum of Solace and in last year’s A Royal Affair.