The Hunt (drama) (2012)
(1 hr 46 mins)
In a village
in Denmark, a nursery teacher named Lucas is popular with the children, and
particularly liked by a girl named Klara. When she kisses him on the lips, he
points out that such affection is not appropriate and she takes it as a rejection.
She then makes comments to the nursery manager, Grethe, that lead her to think
that Lucas has sexually abused Klara. From this moment on, Lucas becomes the
subject of a witchhunt as he is rejected by most of his friends, suspended from
his job and interrogated by the police.
It is made
clear to the viewer that Lucas is innocent so that we experience with him the
injustice of his treatment. He is initially too shocked to defend himself
properly, and the manager at the nursery mishandles the investigation, too
readily assuming that he is guilty and giving the impression to all the parents
of children at the school that there is little doubt about his guilt.
To make
matters worse, Klara is the daughter of Lucas’ best friend, Theo, which makes
the apparent betrayal of trust all the more upsetting. Like almost everyone in
the town, Theo assumes that Klara is telling the truth and therefore Lucas must
be guilty. In fact the only people who are sure he is innocent are his teenage son
and the boy’s godfather, .
It’s not
long before Lucas is forcibly confronted with the judgment of his community. A
brick is thrown through his window, his dog is murdered and he is violently
thrown out of the local supermarket. But he stubbornly and courageously refuses
to leave the town and instead confronts his persecutors.
In a scene
of almost unbearable poignancy, Lucas goes to the Christmas church service and
sits alone in a pew while the congregation stare at him with grim fascination.
When the nursery children are brought out to perform a song, Lucas snaps and
confronts Theo. In fact it is the strength of his anger that makes Theo wonder
if Lucas is innocent after all. Only then does he coax out of Klara the
confession that she told a lie.
The emotions
portrayed in the film are painfully raw and director Thomas Vinterberg manages
to capture an almost primeval struggle for justice. It’s impossible not to
identify with Lucas’ pain and his powerlessness in the face of a situation that
is threatening to ruin his life.
Mads
Mikkelson, winner of the best actor award at Cannes, gives an outstanding
performance as the distraught Lucas, having to be strong for the sake of his
son but clearly in great emotional turmoil. Annika Wedderkopp is haunting as
Klara, bewildered and unnerved by the power she has discovered she can wield in
the complicated world of adults. The script by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm
is superbly constructed, with no extraneous scenes or dialogue.
This is a
film that will move you deeply and that you won’t forget in a hurry.
