Review of The Hunt (2013) by Ajai K — 28 Aug 2014

The Hunt is a piercing look at the gullibility of the masses and the a demonstration of how truth and lies are so intertwined as well as the consequences of jumping into conclusions without rational judgement. The movie is at times painful as the injustice felt is conveyed with exceptional pathos by Mads, whose performance strikes the right chords at the right times, and in total gives a poignant performance.

The film take place in a town in Denmark close to the beautiful valleys were the deers roam freely and are apparently in abundance so to have them hunted. In the seemingly quiet place, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary until a kid who'd overheard something vulgar from her peer uses them in an outburst against her dad's best friend, which in in turn gets misinterpreted as a sexual abuse. The cinematography is striking gives us a cold atmosphere, one which gets even colder as it nears the end of the year and beautiful landscape shots occasionally.

The films plot is about the truth and the twists as well as the the extend of a lie. The mass hysteria an d hostility that a society could have towards someone, the superstitions and pseudo-axioms that one takes for granted in a culture. The endurance of the human spirit in the face of insanity and a crumbling world, as well as the capacity for forgiveness and apology.

The performance of Mads is the stand-out feature of the film, a man who is passive and caring a lot is being burden with disgusting accusations. Despite the hostility of his friends, and the psychological fallout that follows he finds in him to struggle on. He witnesses hysteria, acts of aggression and the murder of his pet, he keeps his closest and faithful dear ones away from him for their own protection. He loses his lover and his job, as someone who has absolutely nothing to live for. The great moment comes when he breaks down inside the chapel and shows his best friend how much he has suffered.

The Hunt is one of those films which displays the faults of being in a community that is so closely-knitted and simultaneously so primitive in mindset. The consequences of a lie that seems so vile and disgusting but is accepted as a truth because of the prevalence of the action. The tendency of the masses to circulate the lie and exaggerate it. The film is a poignant story of individual suffering as well as an extreme depiction of the power of the masses.