The Hunt (2012 film)
| The Hunt | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Film poster | |
| Directed by | Thomas Vinterberg |
| Written by | Tobias Lindholm Thomas Vinterberg |
| Produced by | Morten Kaufmann Sisse Graum Jørgensen Thomas Vinterberg |
| Starring | Mads Mikkelsen Thomas Bo Larsen Lasse Fogelstrøm Annika Wedderkopp |
| Cinematography | Charlotte Bruus Christensen |
| Edited by | Anne Østerud Janus Billeskov Jansen |
| Music by | Nikolaj Egelund |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Nordisk Film |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | Denmark |
| Language | Danish |
| Budget | 20 million kr (3.18 million USD) |
The Hunt (Danish: Jagten) is a 2012 Danish drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Mads Mikkelsen. The story is set in a small Danish village around Christmas, and follows a man who becomes the target of mass hysteria after being wrongly accused of sexually assaulting a child.[1][2] The film was screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and competed at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival where Mads Mikkelsen won the Best Actor Award for his role.[3][4][5]
Plot
Lucas is an average member of a small, close-knit, Danish community. Being a divorcee who is struggling to maintain a relationship with his son and having lost his former job as a secondary school teacher, he is facing some difficulties in his life, and resorts to working at a kindergarten to make ends meet. Yet he enjoys wholesome interaction with the children, and there seems to be a silver lining when an attractive female coworker makes advances towards him and eventually moves in as his girlfriend.
All this is ruined, however, when he is wrongly accused of showing his genitals to Klara, a little girl at the day care who he walks home from school and who is also the daughter of Theo, Lucas' closest friend. Klara was earlier shown a picture of an erect penis by her older brother in jest, and she makes unclear comments about the event that involve Lucas. She is asked leading questions by the nursery personnel during an investigation and unintentionally states that Lucas acted sexually inappropriately around her. All the adults in the community readily believe her story and urge her not to expand on it, lest she relive the supposedly tragic event.
As a result, Lucas is shunned by the majority of the community as a sexual predator. He loses his girlfriend, and his son is publicly ostracized. The end of his friendship with Theo is particularly painful, with Theo's attempts to sympathize with Lucas thwarted by his overprotective wife. Eventually, the ostracism turns to violence when Lucas' dog, Fanny, is killed and Lucas is beaten by the employees of his local grocery store for trying to buy food there. While drifting off to sleep, Klara apologizes to Lucas for her lie and what has transpired. Theo hears her and realizes his friend is innocent.
Lucas confronts Theo during a public mass on Christmas Eve, and the two gain some trust of each other as a result, but they remain largely distanced.
A year after the incident, tensions in the community have lessened. Lucas' girlfriend from the kindergarten is again with him, and his son is being accepted into the local hunting society as an adult member. Yet on a hunting expedition to commemorate the event, an anonymous individual shoots at Lucas and nearly hits him. Lucas looks, blinded by the setting sun, at his attacker, who cannot be seen in the rays, and then almost begins crying with this painful reminder that he will never be fully vindicated.
Cast
- Mads Mikkelsen as Lucas
- Thomas Bo Larsen as Theo, Lucas' friend
- Alexandra Rapaport as Nadja, Lucas' love interest
- Annika Wedderkopp as Klara, Theo's daughter
- Susse Wold as Grethe
- Lars Ranthe as Bruun
- Anne Louise Hassing as Agnes
- Ole Dupont as Godsejer / Advokat
Production
The film was produced by Zentropa for 20 million Danish kroner. It received co-production support from Sweden's Film i Väst and Zentropa International Sweden. Further support came from the Danish Film Institute, DR, Eurimages, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, the Swedish Film Institute, Sveriges Television and the MEDIA Programme.[1]
Release
The film had its premiere on 20 May at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, as the first Danish-language film in the main competition since 1998.[1][6] Mads Mikkelsen won the Best Actor Award at Cannes.[7] Nordisk Film released it in Denmark on 10 January 2013.[1] The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 7 May 2013.
References
- ^ a b c d Staff writer (2012-04-19). "Vinterberg til Cannes Festival". dfi.se (in Danish). Danish Film Institute. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
- ^ "The Hunt, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-11-30.
- ^ "The Hunt". TIFF. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ^ "2012 Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
- ^ "Cannes Film Festival 2012 line-up announced". timeout. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
- ^ "Screenings guide" (PDF). festival-cannes.fr. Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
- ^ "Awards 2012". Cannes. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
