The Hunt (2012)

Sexual abuse of children is the most heinous crime that a person can be charged with, even murderers and other rapists in prison treat pedophiles abominably, not to mention that it is the most difficult charge to refute.

Young children cannot express traumatic experiences they do not understand, so adults can tend to make mistakes by assuming the worst. And the idea that a child can lie about something like sexual abuse seems unthinkable, even though children can lie all the time, often for no good reason.

“The Hunt”, is a film directed by Thomas Vinterberg; one of the pioneers of the ‘Dogma 95’ movement ( a film movement thats main objective was to “purify filmmaking” by refusing expensive and spectacular special effects, post-production modifications and other technical gimmicks). The film tells us the story of Lukas (Mads Mikkelsen) , a much loved kindergarten teacher, who lives in a very peaceful community in Denmark.

Lucas is so kind that one of his kindergarten students, Klara (Annika Wederkopp), is in love with him. When Klara is rejected by him for obvious reasons, the girl becomes defensive and revengeful. Perhaps inspired by the pornographic images she saw on her brother’s iPad, she makes insinuations that makes the head of the daycare center (Susse Wold as ‘Grete’) believe that Lucas sexually abused her.

Grethe needs some conviction that the innocent-looking blond girl is a victim, and reports it first to Klara’s parents and then to all the other adults who have their children at the center. This leads to a predictable reaction from the community against Lucas, who at first does not even realize which of the children has accused him of committing indescribable acts.

Everyone begins to doubt Lucas’ innocence, from Klara’s father (Thomas Bo Larsen), who happens to be Lucas’s best friend, to his own sentimental partner. The rest of the town becomes a vocal and violent mob, making the immediate isolation of Lucas and his subsequent frustration tangible and heartbreaking. Lucas becomes an object for them, a threat to the community, a dangerous and despicable figure. Vinterberg shows us one of the most powerful and devastating isolation portraits I have observed.

The community becomes fragile with the lie. The well-being that our close circle transmits can easily be destroyed by a misunderstanding and by the biased belief that only one version of the facts is the real one. This is how the trust, friendship, and respect that we have earned can disappear suddenly, leaving us as outsiders who must be exiled because we represent a danger to the status quo of society.

“The Hunt” offers us scenes that disturb and make shine the talent of Mikkelsen, showing us a soul fulminated by unjust confrontations. The film’s final message will make more sense to us than we would like: We forgive, but we don’t forget.

by Octavio Carbajal González