[THE HUNT opens in
Cleveland on Friday August 2nd exclusively at the Cedar Lee Theatre.]
Review by Bob Ignizio
There is no doubt that the sexual abuse of children takes place,
and that when it does, it is a horrible thing. There is also no doubt
that innocent people have been wrongly accused and convicted of
committing such acts, and that even when they are exonerated, public
perception often continues to see them as guilty. Thomas Vinterberg's
THE HUNT deals with an
example of the latter.
The story concerns a well liked
kindergarten teacher named Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen). Lucas is
especially well liked by Klara (Annika Wedderkopp ), the daughter of
his best friend Theo (Thomas Bo Larsen). One day when Klara is mad at
Lucas, she vents about him to the principal of the kindergarten,
insulting him using language that she picked up from her older
brother and his friends that could reasonably be interpreted in such
as way as to make an adult think that Lucas had inappropriate contact
with the girl. This is further compounded when someone with no real
skill or authority to interrogate children asks Klara leading
questions and plants further details in her head. Soon, the whole
town is convinced that Lucas is guilty, and before any trial has
taken place, they treat him accordingly.
Although this is a Danish film,
the inspiration seems to be the McMartin preschool case which took
place in California in the eighties. If you are about my age or
older, you almost certainly heard about the alleged mass molestations
of children at a preschool by several of its employees. My guess is
that not all of those who know about the case know that all of the
accused were acquitted, and that serious questions about the way the
children were questioned by police and other authorities were raised.
THE HUNT largely eschews
the more sensationalistic aspects that often colored American abuse
cases such as this. That means no references to Satanic cults and
underground tunnels, but the way that details can often be invented
and (intentionally or not) spread through the potential witness pool
so that a seemingly consistent narrative is created is shown quite
effectively, nonetheless. So, too, is the way that people can be
quick to judge someone based only on an accusation as long as the
accusation is despicable enough. All of this is accomplished in the
same low key, matter of fact manner as co-screenwriter Tobias
Lindholm (in collaboration with Vinterberg) used in his own recent
film A HIJACKING,
albeit with just enough added tension to make this a slightly more
gripping piece of cinema. 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.
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