The Hunt

This belongs to the subgenre of dramas I don't really like because discovering how hateful people can be is something I encounter every day. Fortunately, Thomas Vinterberg's provincial resentment goes far in terms of the credibility of the feelings on both sides, yet sadly he reaches them unbelievably quickly. It's as if the editor skipped several tens of minutes of gradually built tension and jumped from innocent fun to harsh threats. I understand the anger and helplessness that swept through the nursery and family homes, and I praise the tension of several specific scenes, but I am still overwhelmed by the sudden decline, especially since Lucas should have been everyone's favorite neighbor or acquaintance. And I can't help but complain about the lamentations, complaints, and sometimes even hatred of those who comment on the character of little Klara. All of you who wish her harm here either didn't understand the movie or are simply the same nature as a gang of self-proclaimed individuals. (06/17/2016)

A film that is hard to describe has to be seen. Only The Shining, my favourite film ever, has made me feel this “cold” when the end credits started rolling. A harrowing experience that may tamper with the laws of real probability to its emotional advantage at times, but the way it repeatedly pours boiling water on the viewer, and leaves them standing outside in the freezing cold is truly unprecedented. I don't know any other film that can so amazingly adapt the audience's emotions to the main character's depressive feelings and that makes the audience actively react to every twist and turn, laughing, cursing, crying... I feel a little bitter towards Thomas Vinterberg and all the other actors for having sweated through and through my least cheap t-shirt and sweatshirt, but otherwise I send them my admiration and endless praise. This review is intentionally shallow because to tinker more thoroughly with something so perfect and effective seems undignified to me. (04/13/2013)

A calm Nordic winter, a five-year-old femme fatale, and me, unaware of the plot or anything else, sitting in my seat in the movie theater, and knowing that in six months I am to become a teacher too. It’s pure in terms of the genre to the point where words about sliding on the surface come to mind, yet it cuts under the skin like few things have in recent memory. I haven't felt my throat this tight in a long time. (02/11/2013)

No matter what anybody might say, Mads Mikkelsen is the most interesting and the best contemporary European actor. Each of his characters on the screen is alive. Not only alive, they’re downright breathing through the screen. In my opinion, The Hunt is the best notch on his belt that must win everyone over. I get that he took advantage of the current situation of the Danish cinema which is full of the best screenwriters and directors, but he was simply destined to be born into this very era and he made the best possible use of it due to his personality. The Hunt is a difficult movie to watch. It’s actually about a topic that is hard to talk about and just as hard to film. It’s a taboo that stirred the pot in this movie. The amazing thing is that the screenwriter apparently analyzed the human nature all his life and showed exactly what we, as human beings, are capable of doing and what we are not capable of doing. After an absurd discovery, Mads transforms with each single second of this movie and the viewer drowns in a depression that will leave you restless. That’s exactly what movies are about. About emotions and feelings that each of us should think about regularly. The Hunt managed to do that, and I must say that it is one of the few movies that aren’t afraid to reveal the truth hidden somewhere in the corner of each of us. (11/01/2013)

Little Klara deserves an educational blow with an axe to the nape of her neck. The film can arouse the emotions of the viewer, mainly the negative ones, but it didn’t fascinate me as much as I wanted. In a couple of scenes the script felt overworked (for instance, how the testimony of a girl retold word for word by other people changes from "something indefinite" to a "clear accusation of harassment" - nice, but I felt the very purpose of it). The ending is strong, even though my horror-oriented self waited all the time for a proper exploitation “hunt”. (02/01/2013)