Arrow Video The Hunt

Mud sticks, as the saying goes. You are innocent, having committed no crime. But an accusation against you is made, becomes publicly known. Doubt arises and suspicion spreads thereafter. People who know you, or thought they did, begin to look at you differently, feeling their trust has been betrayed by you. Thus they also become victims of your crime, the crime you never committed until they started believing you had. Which is a major problem with belief: it isn’t always accurate. So we see here how witch hunts begin and spread, how doubt, fear and suspicion create a relentless momentum of distrust. We also see how it can tear a community apart.The story takes place in a small Danish town. Lucas, about 40, is going through some hard times: divorce, irregular work, partial estrangement from his teenage son Marcus. The breakdown with Marcus hurts, as Lucas doesn’t want to lose the love, trust and respect of his son. But it’s tough because Marcus is apparently close to his mother and Lucas doesn’t look like much in the community, now teaching at a kindergarten instead of holding down a proper man’s job.But at least friends are supportive, especially Theo, who more or less opens his home to him. Lucas gets on well with Theo, his wife Agnes and their young daughter Klara, aged about 6.Lucas seems to like the kindergarten. He’s good with the kids, generous and playful. He even walks Klara to the school sometimes. They walk hand in hand. He’s protective of her as if she were his own daughter.Like many children, Klara has an active imagination. She picks up on what she hears around her. Maybe she’s a little lonely, living in fantasy worlds she constructs for herself, as all children do.Part of what she hears at home is adult talk which she doesn’t understand. This comes from her teenaged older brother who is randy and likes pornography. Daring, risqué, adventurous talk. Maybe by using it she can be adventurous too. Maybe it’s a game in which she can become the centre of attention. Who can clearly say what goes on in the nebulous mind of a child? It’s all a great muddle inside as the child tries to make sense of a baffling world ruled over by adults.A stray comment is uttered by Klara at the school. The female principal of the school overhears the remark while Lucas is outside playing with the other children. The principal, Grethe, wants to be sure what she heard from Klara is what she said, so she coaxes the child to repeat it, which she does.Suddenly the school (and community) has a problem. Lucas is not what he seems. The child has told the adults something disturbing. Lucas is now, without knowing it, under intense scrutiny and surveillance. Experts are called in to speak to the child, to tease details out of her. There are no details. There is no problem. The child simply has a vivid imagination, the line in her mind between fibs and truth telling fine and muddled. There is no clear divide.She loves Lucas as she loves her own father. She may even have a small crush on him and feel confused by it. She doesn’t understand what she’s saying, but how are the adults to know she doesn’t understand? Ideally, it’s the job of a psychiatrist to understand, to get to the bottom of a child’s fantasies. That he fails to do so here may not be an indictment of psychiatry by the film, but we see its flaws and limitations. As we know only too well, or should by now in this post-Freudian world, psychiatry is an interpretive, subjective endeavour, not a science. Of course it’s not the domain of charlatans per se, but its results can sometimes look like charlatanry.The results in this case are devastating and depressing. The child is believed, not the adult. The verdict by an arbitrary court of law established internally and unofficially by persons unqualified to do so is that Lucas is guilty, his crime a perversion. But there is no crime. We the audience, along with Lucas the accused, know the charge is false. But how can he prove it — his word against that of a child?So the real crime, if there is one, is the community’s. Frontier justice and lynchings are the work of barbarity, not civilisation.I hesitate to say more because this subtle thriller is meant to be seen (as all films are), not read about. So I have described only the background to the nightmare Lucas experiences, not its depressing details.Takeaways? Evidence is vital, critical. It’s why we have laws and a judicial process. Without them the whole world becomes a moral Rashomon subject to simultaneous, conflicting interpretation. Innocent till proven guilty is right, always correct. This is the proper arrangement. Anything less is chaos, anarchy, barbarity.Lucas is wounded by many things: circumstances, his community, his so-called friends. Also, though not stated directly, by a modern climate of paranoia and suspicion perpetuated by the media. What’s interesting and heroic is how he survives. As the title suggests, he was a hunted man and may even remain one. Things are left ambiguous in the film, so we cannot properly know its ending.If mud sticks, that’s because that’s what it does. Once smeared on a person it’s difficult or even impossible to remove. Even those innocent and exonerated of crimes they did not commit can remain tainted, the doubt and suspicion surrounding them never dissipating.Hence this is a cautionary tale, and a great one, about fear, bigotry, intolerance, injustice. I suppose the film won’t disappoint you, though it’s likely to depress you.Latstly, Lucas is played by Mads Mikkelsen, one of the finest Scandinavian actors now working. The camera loves his face, as he’s one of those who needn’t say anything to convey an entire world of feeling. He will be remembered and appreciated long, long after his film career is over.

I think there will be far too many of those manosphere types who will be into the idea of a not-paedo-Christ they can tag all their anxieties about sex crimes they've gone unconvicted for on here, but this was a cracking film. Whilst you could get stuck on the idea of crimes of sexual violence going untried mostly in the World, and so why would this happen - no smoke without fire, etc., I think it is interesting to investigate what mob culture can bring us if we let it, and how children 'seeing' things can mean something wholly different. Vinterberg is a really beautiful writer/director, and Mikkelsen is at his soulful best here. They've managed to navigate a difficult topic without trivialising the suffering of victims.It's a shame we don't get to see Mikkelsen in subtler, less bad-guy roles in English. This was really well thought through, and I enjoyed in the script how all those unresolved things hang in the air (as in many Danish films) and add to the tension and despair. There's also that strange quality of nature as beautiful wilderness but also hunting ground - how quickly the familiar can be made hostile by the World being turned on its axis. A great study in how human conscience and friendship can prevail, even in adverse circumstances. Also interesting how the friends look at each other like animals in a forest to discern the truth, almost as if instinct had been worth more than they thought all along.

Danish screenwriter and director Thomas Vinterberg`s eight feature film which he co-wrote with Danish screenwriter and director Tobias Lindholm and co-produced, premiered In competition at the 65th Cannes International Film Festival in 2012, was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival in 2012 and is a Danish production which was shot on location in Denmark and produced by Danish producer and screenwriter Morten Kaufmann and Danish producer Sisse Graum Jørgensen. It tells the story about Lucas, a recently divorced middle-aged man who just began working at a kindergarten and who wishes to spend more time with his teenage son Marcus who lives with his mother. After starting a romance with a foreign woman named Nadja things improve, but one day during a conversation with Grethe who runs the day-care center, he learns that a girl named Klara has told her an unsettling story about him. In a matter of days a spark is turned into a flame and a harmonic village into an irrational witch-hunt against one individual.Finely and acutely directed by Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character`s point of view, draws an instantly involving and profoundly heartrending portrayal of a little girl who after being unintentionally hurt by a well-liked man whom she has a childhood crush on, unknowingly and with only a few words incriminates him by expressing her anger to the head of the kindergarten. While notable for its naturalistic rural milieu depictions, fine production design by Danish production designer Torben Stig Nielsen, cinematography by Danish cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen, editing by Danish film editors Janus Billeskov Jansen and Anne Østerud, use of sound and realism, this character-driven and narrative-driven psychological drama about family relations, friendship and irrevocable accusations which is set during a late winter in Denmark, depicts a refined study of character and contains a good score by Danish composer Nikolaj Egelund.This somewhat romantic, at times humorous, atmospheric and tangible intrigue which has been chosen as Denmark`s official submission to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards in 2014 and where a friendship is tested, a hunter becomes the hunted and the question of guilt transforms ordinary people into paranoid savages, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, subtle character development, mysterious characters, brilliant writing, the tailor-made though distinct and accomplished acting performance by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, the understated acting performance by Danish actor Thomas Bo Larsen and the impressively authentic acting performance by child actress Annika Wedderkopp. A dramatic, poignant and rightfully provocative tale which gained, among other awards, the award for Best Actor Mads Mikkelsen and the Vulcain Prize of the Technical Artist Charlotte Bruus Christensen for outstanding cinematography at the 65th Cannes Film Festival in 2012.

I saw this good film in a cinema several years ago. Concerning the dvd, there is some English text on the plastic container but there are no subtitles either in English or French. I don't read German subtitles, which are here, very well.

Excelente película

Quanti danni può provocare una "stupidaggine", una bugia detta da una bimba dell'asilo che dice di essere stata fatta oggetto di attenzioni sessuali dal proprio maestro, migliore amico dei suoi genitori? La piccola vede fotografie porno e sente strani discorsi in casa fatti dal fratello più grande con i suoi amici. Fa un disegno per il maestro, Lucas, che gentilmente lo rifiuta perché non adatto a lui. Da qui alla vendetta della piccola, il passo è breve. La notizia serpeggia all'interno dell'asilo e della comunità e Lucas sarà licenziato e bandito dalla società, abbandonato da tutti. E quello che è peggio, nessuno gli permette di difendersi. Perfino quando la bimba confessa di aver detto solo stupidaggini la gente preferisce credere che lui sia un mostro. Ma si sa che la gente sente quello che vuole sentire e crede a quello in cui vuole credere, e alla fine, quando un anno dopo Lucas viene riabilitato, rimane comunque qualcuno che continua a pensarla diversamente...Film molto crudo che racconta con pochi virtuosismi un tema senza dubbio molto delicato e purtroppo quanto mai attuale. Bravissimi tutti gli attori, specialmente il protagonista, Mads Mikkelsen. Buono il DVD. Consigliatissimo.

Mads Mikkelsen, after appearing as Hannibal in the TV series Hannibal last year, appeared in The Hunt about a teacher who is accused by the daughter of the man who is his closest friend, with the most heartwrenching of lies. The Hunt tells of his struggle to overcome the lie and to forge ahead with his new found love and his son. The masterful acting of Mads Mikkelsen makes for an interesting glimpse into the soul of a man who couldn't understand what had happened to him and how he tries to get above it all. The ending is brilliant, as it seems to bring closure to the story but then it suddenly takes us back to the time when Mads was believed to be that evil.The acting of Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal and of Lucas is in direct contrast to each other and it is marvellous to see.

Das war jetzt mal ein sehr intensives Filmerlebnis.........schreibe diese Rezension noch während dem Abspann und immer nocherzeugt dieser Film bei mir "Nachwehen".....nach einer guten halben Stunde Laufzeit lag die Sympathie klarbeim Unschuldigen,die Antipathie richtete sich gegen den Kleinstadt-Mob.Alles nichts Neues?-Doch!-Weil erzählt mit dieser nordisch kühlenPräzision und Unaufgeregtheit der dänischen Filmschule!DANKE für die Erinnerung daran,daß Filme auch mehr sein können alsKrawumm und Oberfläche,die bei mir weniger tief gehen als der Finger in der Nase...;-)Dann aber-ohne spoilern zu wollen-schwenkt das Ganze in recht konventionelleBahnen um,und hat mich am Ende zwar nicht enttäuscht,aber doch fast überraschendzurückgelassen.Das letzte Filmdrittel-verlaufend nach einem 08/15-Drama(auch wennmit der allerletzten Szene nochmals ein (richtiger) Schwenker erfolgt)!Und trotzdem.....inszeniert nah am Realen,von einem großartigen Mads Mikkelsengetragen,-schnürt Vinterberg den Strick um die Kehle immer weiter zu.Beklemmung...die bleibt!!_______________________________________________________Inhalt/Story:Lucas,der gerade eine Scheidung verarbeitet,ist als Kindergärtner tätigund liebt seinen Job.In seinem Heimatdorf ist er sehr beliebt und wird geschätzt.Dann ändert sich alles.Die kleine Klara,die stets seine Nähe sucht,fühlt sichabgelehnt und deutet bei der Kindergartenleiterin an,das Lucas sich sexuell an ihrvergangen hat.Damit beginnt der Albtraum für Lucas;das unbewiesene Gerücht verbreitet sich wieein Lauffeuer und schon bald ist Lucas Freiwild.Kann er die Situation aufklären....-oder geschieht schlimmeres....?----------------------------------------Persönlicher Eindruck:Die Jagd ist ein sehr intensiver und unangenehmer Film.Extrem glaubhaft,mitreissend verkörpert von Charakterkopf Mads Mikkelsen,wird dieGeschichte des Niedergangs eines respektierten Menschen gezeigt,der den Mechanismeneiner Lüge fast hilflos gegenübersteht.Mit allen Konsequenzen.......wie würde man sich selber verhalten,wenn man so etwas von einem Nachbarn hört?Oder was wäre,wenn man selbst im Verdacht stehen würde?Mich hat dieser Film mehr als nachdenklich gemacht,und ein flaues Gefühlim Magen hinterlassen.******************************************Fazit:Ein bedrückender Film,der ohne Effekthascherei die Problematikdes Protagonisten zeigt.Denn ein Gerücht ist wie ein Virus,das sich unter unbeteiligtenMitläufern verbreitet,bis es jeder für die Wahrheit hält.Wehrt man sich nicht,weil man nicht noch Öl ins Feuer giessen will,wird das als Schuldeingeständnis interpretiert.Wehrt man sich irgendwann doch,um sich einen Funken Würde zu bewahren,wird man um so mehr gehasst!Gefangen in einem Strudel der Gewalt,vergeblich schwimmend gegen eineübermächtige Strömung.DIE JAGD bekommt von mir für die brilliante,realitätsnahe Inszenierungauf jeden Fall 5 Sterne!!Gelungen,absolut genial gespielt und dargestellt-meine vollste Hochachtung vor dem Regisseur Thomas Vinterberg,der diesesverstörende Tabuthema ja schon mit dem Meisterwerk"Das Fest" in Szenezu setzen verstand!!Laufzeit: 120 Minuten,die nicht unbedingt für einen biergeschwängertenStimmungsabend geeignet sind.

J'ai adoré Festen, un film extraordinaire, la Chasse ne m'a pas déçue, film inspiré d'un fait réèl, remarquable, le jeu des acteurs est époustouflant, on parle de thriller, je ne trouve pas que ce soit un thriller, c'est la vie d'un homme honnête accusé à tort, joué par un acteur de grand talent, on est pris du début à la fin par cette injustice et cette rumeur qui s'étend dans cette petite ville aux habitants à l'esprit étriqué, Un Enfant ne ment jamais, c'est une légende, un Enfant ment...cette petite fille d'à peine 5 ans est déjà une petite intrigante pour ne pas employer un autre terme.La fin du film se termine sur une note paisible et non, la dernière image est dramatique, il n'en a pas terminé ce pauvre, on essaie encore de l'assassiner, pourquoi???Une anecdote, j'ai pris quelque chose pour dormir, j'étais révoltée par cette injustice, être accusé sans être coupable c'est atroce.A recommanderIl faut savoir qu'en Suède c'est l'enfant qui dirige la famille, on n'a pas le droit de le réprimander, je ne sais pas au Danemark.