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Plot

The Hunt centers on Lucas (Mikkelsen), a middle-aged, divorcée, and father of a son daycare teacher. Spending time with his pals, particularly his fraternal friend Theo, and going deer hunting with them are primarily the main character's big passions. Little Klara works at the school where Lucas is a teacher. Theo's young daughter, who is drawn to Lucas, writes him a love letter. The teacher rejects her and tells her it's wrong, with the affection of a father. In revenge, Klara claims that Lucas approached her and subsequently described the man's private parts to the institute's director.
The woman decides to take action by removing Lucas from the school. She is shocked, skeptical, and extremely afraid that the girl's claims might reflect reality. The story quickly spreads throughout their little community and finally reaches Theo as well. When the latter attacks his friend, Lucas is quickly accused of being a rapist and pedophile.

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Why should you watch it?

• A blood-freezing story: The protagonist (a very good Mads Mikkelsen) is enveloped and suffocated by this idea and the ensuing cruelty like a toxic cloud that leaves him breathless, hopeless, and with no chance to look beyond the hatred in Vinterberg's deep and intense drama, which on several occasions almost borders on horror. He has nothing left to save apart from his dignity and the assurance that, despite everything and everyone, he is innocent. The story cannot help but deeply involve us because it forces us to suffer alongside Lucas and forces us to judge people who essentially act out of fear by doing nothing but trying to defend their children and their community; they do what deep fear compels people to do. Vinterberg does not want a thriller, but he also wants that as well as in the protagonistsoul, also in the spectator's there should never even be any doubt about his innocence and the reality of the facts; this is precisely why the story cannot help but freeze the blood.

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• A tough subject: When the institute director claims that throughout her many years of experience, she has always believed in the goodness and purity that are inherent "in the soul" of children, she is also expressing that she is not willing to accept within herself a more complex and less idealized representation of reality, namely, that children can lie, that they can manipulate others for their own benefit, and that they are not as pure as they seem. The most practical response, offered by the director with little thought and great agitation, may be, "You have to be the monster because I would be too troubled if I had to believe that a small child could do such a horrific thing."
  The capacity to maintain these qualities is a huge problem in a community that prides itself on the complete sense of security it can provide to its residents, a neighborhood where residents trust one another enough for children to leave their homes unobserved.
  We are shocked by the hunt because it involves us, our adorable small towns, which are overwhelmed by fear and suspicion and capable of any atrocity. Vinterberg convincingly flips the narrative and demonstrates to us that victims might be numerous.
  Lifelong friendships, established social connections, and feelings of intimacy and camaraderie all become meaningless clichés. We become trapped in a smaller, more exclusive version of our own familiar macrocosm. The enemy is all around us and wears our neighbor's respectable face. It doesn't matter if he's guilty or not anymore. Frightening.

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• A single flaw: The predictable nature of the plot is The Hunt's one weakness. It is evident from the instant Lucas is pulled from the kindergarten that things will escalate from there and that there will be an unbridgeable divide between the instructor and the community. Despite this, it has the great merit of maintaining a high level of emotional tension throughout the movie (much of the credit goes to Mads Mikkelsen's excellent performance), giving the audience a chance to identify with the various characters, understand people's suspicions, and most importantly, feel compassion for a man who helplessly witnesses the unjust dissolution of his life. And who, with great professionalism, will never harbor ill feelings toward the little architect of his suffering.

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Conclusion

A really great movie, strongly recommended for the tough subjects it deals with.

Rating

My personal vote is:

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8.5/10

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