The Hunt

It was a gripping and harrowing film to watch. I noticed two or three people left before the end and Sue – my better half – said if she'd been watching at home she wouldn't have stuck it out.

I'm reminded of the film (and book) Atonement, where another young girl's lie leads to tragedy - although I found Atonement not nearly so harrowing as this film. I wonder why? Atonement had a much worse outcome - James McAvoy went to jail and the girl didn't own up to the lie until many years later. I suspect in real life Klara wouldn't have either, and Lucas would have had a miserable life.

A common criticism we get in our feedbacks of many films is that they're not realistic. Well real life can be pretty boring. Did the people who left early go because it wasn't realistic? Or because it was too uncomfortably close to reality? The ending was a brilliant coup de théâtre which really rammed home the message that mud sticks - for ever. And they couldn't have used that ending if Lucas hadn't been ostracised and then rehabilitated. But how realistic do you have to be? Oliver Twist? King Lear? What's Up Doc? Does art have to be the same as real life? I'm sure if it had been a Shakespeare tragedy it would have had a much worse ending.

Of course you sympathise with Lucas because he is unable to do anything to fix his problem – perhaps he wouldn't have got himself into such a mess if he hadn't been so familiar with the children. There are people who would suspect any man's motive for working with young children. And they wonder why children in primary schools have no male role models? Who'd be a man teaching in a primary school? Even women teachers (ie Sue again) have to think twice before giving an upset child a hug.

Mads Mikkelsen deservedly won best actor at Cannes 2012 for his awe-inspiring performance.

ADDED - 12/10/13
I found an article by Xan Brooks in The Guardian which describes some of the background to the film and includes this insight from Thomas Vinterberg, the director:

'He explains that the idea had been seeded years before by some notes handed to him by a child psychiatrist and that the film's central interrogation scene (which initially struck me as over-egged and unconvincing) is actually a cleaned-up version of a real transcript. The result, he says, is a film about a witch-hunt and its victims; a story that identifies a new strain of wickedness. "Of course abuse happens – I made a film about that already. But I think that there's this other danger and it demands new sacrifices, new victims. These victims are not only the men – and sometimes women – who are accused of something they haven't done. But they are also the children who grow up believing they are victims. Those children operate under the grand illusion that something bad has happened to them; they grow up with similar experiences to the children who really did experience it." He draws a breath. "It's rotten, rotten territory.'

To read the full article follow this link:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/22/thomas-vinterberg-the-hunt-festen

There are several other interviews with the director on-line.

Feedback score was 86%. Audience comments:

A	A most uncomfortable and engrossing film
A	Very powerful film. Small words have large ripples
A	Very tense.
A	Very thought provoking. Very entertaining.
A	Very powerful.
A
A	Very disturbing.
A	Fabulous film – sensitive subject handled superbly on all levels! More like it please.
A	Excellent story, wonderful acting by the lead, Lucas + Klara
A	Gripping
A	Beautifully acted with a genuinely surprising and unsettling ending
A	Thank you
A	Important and difficult subject matter – well approached. Uncomfortable yet entertaining.
A	An excellent film but very uncomfortable to watch. Wonderful acting. Brilliant ending!!!
A/B	Atmospheric – but depressing.
B	Found it excruciating! Excellent performance by Klara.
B	Initially slow – establishing relationships – but v. good after that. V. honest
B	A harrowing film - “Miller-esque” in development. Beautiful yet very sad + powerful emotionally.
B	Very thought provoking & a lesson not to judge without proof & carefully even then.
B	Very moving but hard to believe things could escalate so far.
B
B	Gripping – the little girl was amazing! Not sure about the final scene!
B	Don't work with children and animals!
B
B	Disturbing
B	Good thriller: realistic characters in a realistic situation.
B	Well done, but not a comfortable watch. The ending seemed rushed besides being annoyingly ambiguous.
B
B
B	Small minded village life. Why didn't he leave?! Dark and depressing.
B	How easily a small “lie” can escalate. Frightening.
C	Too many gullible idiots. Plotline reminiscent of “Straw Dogs”
E	Ludicrous film, based on a false premise.
U	I'm sure it was a brilliant film – hated every minute of it.

Online:
A thoughtful review from Philip French in The Observer
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/dec/02/the-hunt-film-review

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw had it a "superbly thrilling drama" in his 4-star review:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/20/the-hunt-jagten-film-review

The telegraph (5 stars) "one of the year's best films", writes Robbie Collin:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/9711873/The-Hunt-review.html

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating was 94%:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hunt_2013/

IMDB 8.2 out of 10:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2106476/