The Hunt

The Hunt
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: Thomas Vinterberg [IMDB]

I've seen two other films by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg: 'The Celebration' and 'Submarino', both of which I consider foreign masterpieces. Now comes this new concoction with Mads Mikkelsen in the lead and I'm already sold. I was very pumped to finally get a chance to sit down and check this bad larry out... so here we go.

Spoiler Alert:

Before I begin, I would recommend you watch this film first before reading further. It is great... as you can see at the bottom... 5 Arnolds. It is better going in not knowing what will unfold, as it makes for an intriguing ride... also it'd be hard to review or talk about without spoiling certain aspects of it.

Synopsis: A daycare teacher is falsely accused of improper behavior with one of the children under his care and a little that lie starts to tear his life apart.

This film really does a great job at pissing you off. I've said this before, but kids are assholes. This little girl basically screws this guy's life up and there's nothing he can do. It taught me a valuable lesson though, everybody are assholes.... not just kids (sorry about that kids.) When the girl realizes her fabrication carried some weight and decides to fess up, no one believes her. Everyone automatic assumes he's guilty... because why would children lie. It's basically a no win situation for my boy Mads.

The Hunt is a really fascinating look at the small town dynamic, but with a twist. At first I thought people were reacting way overboard and that the events that take place after he's accused were a bit unbelievable... then I thought about it. They really aren't. People suck. They blindly follow without questioning sometimes... not everyone, but a lot. This guy hadn't even gone to court yet and he was already guilty.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It keeps you anxious and guessing what will transpire at every moment. I recommend it, as well as the other two Vinterberg films I mentioned.