The Hunt / Jagten

Hon

fiction / 2012 / Denmark / col. / 111 min.

Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Screenplay: Tobias Lindholm, Thomas Vinterberg
Photography: Charlotte Bruus Christensen
Editor: Janus Billeskov Jansen, Anne Østerud
Music: Nikolaj Egelund
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp, Lasse Fogelstrøm, Susse Wold, Anne Louise Hassing, Lars Ranthe, Alexandra Rapaport, Sebastian Bull Sarning

This climactic psychological drama by the Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, co-founder of the Dogme 95 movement, tells a story of the 40-year-old Lukas, a recent divorcee. He works in a kindergarten and is slowly starting over – he has friends, a new job, a girlfriend and a wonderful relationship with his teenage son. This idyll is soon disrupted by a random but all the more terrifying lie, which starts to spread like a virus in the community of his friends. As worries and distrust grow into monstrous proportions, things get out of hand and the whole village is swept by hysteria. Lukas is trying to protect his dignity, even in front of his best friend. The hunt, a form of common male entertainment, becomes parallel to this ruthless pursuit of an innocent man. The film seamlessly combines realism with powerful cinematography and excellent acting.