Jagten/The Hunt - Reviews - Magazines & Newspaper

The Hunt: Cannes Review

The Thomas Vinterberg-directed psychological drama stars Mads Mikkelsen as a blameless man whose life threatens to be destroyed.

CANNES – Thomas Vinterberg burst onto the international scene in 1998 at Cannes with Festen (The Celebration), a malevolently comic drama in which the ugly truth of childhood sexual abuse poisoned the air and blew away the happy hypocrisy of a family reunion. In the Danish director’s most powerful film since then, The Hunt, the charge of pedophilia again plays an explosive role, only this time the allegation is based on an impulsive lie, making it even more bitter when the fallout spirals violently out of control. It’s difficult to watch but riveting.

Propelled by Mads Mikkelsen’s shattering performance as the blameless man whose life threatens to be destroyed, the film is superbly acted by a cast that never strikes a false note or softens the impact with consolatory sentiment. The same strengths distinguish Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm’s screenplay, which spins a psychological horror story rooted at every step in credible reality.

The film is fundamentally about the speed at which lies, gossip and innuendo can become cemented as fact in public opinion, and about the disturbing power of suggestion on young minds. But it’s also about the fragile nature of trust in communities and among friends, particularly men. It shows how easily masculine bonds stretching back years can be broken and how willingly a band of brothers can betray one of its own.

Lucas (Mikkelsen) is a beloved member of one such group of small-town deer-hunting buddies, whose rowdy get-togethers are fueled by booze and bonhomie. Bouncing back from the loss of his teaching job and a messy divorce, he is just starting to get on his feet again. He has a new job at a local kindergarten, begins a promising relationship with a foreign co-worker (Alexandra Rapaport), and after having limited access to his adolescent son Marcus (Lasse Fogelstrom), it now appears likely the boy will be moving back in with him.

Mikkelsen imbues Lucas in his earliest scenes with such warmth and compassion, particularly around the adoring kids at work, that it’s heart-wrenching to hear the alarm bells going off when the drama’s nightmarish chain of events is set in motion.

Klara (Annika Wedderkopp), the young daughter of Lucas’ closest friend Theo (Thomas Bo Larsen), develops an innocent crush on him. But when her displays of affection overstep normal boundaries, Lucas gently draws a line, which she misinterprets as a hurtful rebuff. Her imagination sparked by a pornographic image glimpsed on her brother’s iPad, Klara responds to the concerned questions of kindergarten supervisor Grethe (Susse Wold) by saying that Lucas exposed himself to her.

The film stirs indignation via the blind ineptitude with which Grethe addresses the allegation, involving a seemingly under-qualified external child psychologist, colleagues, parents, and eventually, police. But what’s even more upsetting is Lucas’ helplessness to correct the misinformation, given that Grethe refuses to tell him the source or even the exact nature of the charge. Parents advised to look for signs of trauma in their children suddenly begin seeing them everywhere.

Virtually overnight, Lucas finds himself ostracized by the community, shunned by all but one loyal friend (Lars Ranthe), physically assaulted and subjected to a particularly vicious reprisal that causes both him and Marcus considerable grief.

While witch-hunt stories like this one peaked in the news some 20 years ago and have been dramatized on TV and film before, The Hunt is still shocking. That’s thanks to the skill with which Vinterberg, Lindholm and editors Anne Osterud and Janus Billeskov Jansen modulate the crescendo of paranoia, judgement and injustice.

Adding to the sorrow at the drama’s heart is Klara’s confusion. Even when she volunteers that it was a silly thing she made up, her mother (Anne Louise Hassing) muddies her grasp of the situation with leading talk about the repression of unpleasant memories. However, any sense of individual responsibility remains secondary to the sober acknowledgement of the role played by societal conditioning and adults’ instinctive belief in the innocence of children. Following a painful resolution, the film’s chilling coda makes it clear that the damage can never really be undone.

The elegantly framed widescreen compositions of cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen maintain a certain detachment in the establishing action, bearing witness to the awful events with distressing clarity. And Nikolaj Egelund’s delicate music is used with economy to punctuate the two-month ordeal, never to artificially stoke tension as a heavier hand might have done.

But while it’s crisply executed, The Hunt is very much an actor-driven film. As the child who triggers the maelstrom and then gets bundled out of its way, Wedderkopp gives a performance of uncanny naturalness and vulnerability, while as the teenager caught in the crossfire, Fogelstrom is equally good.

Intense, wounded, wrung out and pushed to the brink of insanity, Mikkelsen’s Lucas is a devastating characterization, all the more so because his outbursts of rage are so infrequent. Continuing on from his impressive work in A Royal Affair, which premiered in Berlin, this is a tremendous year for the Danish actor, best known to international audiences as 007’s nemesis in Casino Royale.

«Jagten», la perfide chasse à l’homme de Thomas Vinterberg

Article publié le : dimanche 20 mai 2012 - Dernière modification le : dimanche 20 mai 2012, Par Siegfried Forster

On n’apprend rien de nouveau, mais on vit tout très différemment dans le nouveau film de Thomas Vinterberg. Jagten (La Chasse), en compétition pour la Palme d’or, raconte la descente en enfer d’un brave homme, accusé d’abus sexuel. C’est l’enfant qui ment et l’homme qui trinque. Un point de vue diabolique dans une société hantée par la pédophilie. Ainsi le réalisateur danois fait vaciller notre foi dans la société.

Au début, il y a cette image d’un cerf qui traverse la forêt et Lucas qui tient son fusil. Le cerf regarde, le chasseur tire. « Jagten » est un film avec plein de rebondissements qui nous tiennent en haleine de la première à la dernière scène. En permanence, on est sur nos gardes, et pourtant, personne ne verra venir le tir final. Vinterberg nous livre un thriller social et psychologique qui a véritablement fait bondir le public lors de la première mondiale au Festival de Cannes.

Lucas adore de faire la chasse et se saoûler avec ses amis. Mais ce quarantenaire est tout le contraire d’un macho. Cet homme scandinave moderne fait la vaisselle, joue avec les enfants et quand il y a un petit garçon qui n’arrive pas à aller seul aux toilettes, c’est naturellement lui qui va aider. Lucas travaille comme instituteur dans un jardin d’enfant. Il vient de divorcer et est en train d’obtenir la garde de son fils adolescent.

La première flèche

C’est la fille de son meilleur ami, la toute petite et toute mignonne Clara, qui sort la première flèche. Au jardin d’enfant, lorsque Lucas refuse d’accepter son cadeau, un cœur, et lui explique de ne pas lui donner un bisou sur la bouche, elle se venge. Avec toute l’innocence de son âge, elle dit à la directrice du jardin d’enfant qu’elle n’aime pas Lucas : « Il est moche et il a un zizi. » La directrice voudrait bien en rire et lui explique que tous les garçons et tous les hommes ont un zizi, mais Clara insiste : « Mais son zizi est tout raide ».

Vinterberg nous entraîne dans son jeu pervers d’une manière extrêmement malicieuse. Il nous inflige un traitement cruel : nous, spectateurs, sommes sur le côté de ceux qui savent. On sait que les propos de la petite fille viennent d’une image porno que son grand frère lui avait montrée et qu’elle dégurgite maintenant. Par contre, l’intrigue du film est menée par ceux qui ignorent tout et doutent beaucoup. Ils surprotègent la fille et surinterprètent ses propos.

Mettre des mots dans la bouche

La machine infernale des calomnies et soupçons accélère alors que la fillette aimerait bien se reprendre (« Il n’a rien fait. J’ai dit des bêtises »). En vain. La directrice, le psychologue, les parents et amis refusent d’accepter la vérité. Ils préfèrent mettre les mots qu’ils veulent bien entendre dans la bouche de la petite : « Ma fille, c’est difficile à comprendre, mais ton cerveau ne se souvient plus ».

L’histoire est construite avec une perfidie extrême. Chaque pas, chaque geste vont trahir la vérité et barrer la route à l’acquittement de l’accusé. Le réalisateur entretient volontairement le trouble : Assimiler les propos d’un enfant, sans ménagement, à un mensonge est un sacrilège dans une société hantée par la pédophilie. Vinterberg fait monter la tension à un tel point que le public applaudit quand Lucas donne un coup de tête à un de ses diffamateurs.

« La pensée est un virus »

Mads Mikkelsen interprète avec une clarté extraordinaire et un étonnement considérable le rôle principal. Le réalisateur danois veut surtout démontrer que « la pensée est un virus » qu’aucune preuve ne peut arrêter. Pour cela Vinterberg omet tout ce qu’on attend normalement d’un accusé dans cette situation : prendre un avocat, chercher la police, exiger la justice, clamer son innocence, demander des explications à ses amis. Vinterberg, au contraire, expose Lucas au verdict populaire. Ce sont ces meilleurs amis et son entourage proche qui propagent l’accusation qui se transforme en une chasse à l’homme où la réputation est détruite par des soupçons et des demi-vérités. Un cinéma sournois et redoutablement efficace.


"Jagten" perfidious manhunt by Thomas Vinterberg

You do not learn anything new, but we saw everything very differently in the new film by Thomas Vinterberg. Jagten (La Chasse) competing for the Palme d'Or, tells of the descent into hell of a good man, accused of sexual abuse. It is the child who lies and the man who toasts. A diabolical perspective in a society obsessed with pedophilia. Thus the Danish director is staggering faith in society.

At first there is this image of a deer through the forest and Lucas holding his gun. The deer looks, the hunter shoots. "Jagten" is a film full of twists that keep us spellbound from the first to the last scene. Continuously, we are on our guard, and yet no one will come the final shot. Vinterberg gives us a social and psychological thriller that really pushed the audience during the world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

Lucas loves to hunt and getting drunk with his friends. But this quarantine is the opposite of macho. Scandinavian modern man does the dishes, playing with children and when there is a little boy who can not go to the toilet alone, it is naturally that will help him. Lucas worked as a teacher in a kindergarten. He has just divorced and is currently gaining custody of his teenage son.

The first arrow

She is the daughter of his best friend, the tiny and dainty Clara, released the first arrow. In kindergarten, when Lucas refuses to accept his gift, a heart, and tells him not to give him a kiss on the mouth, she takes it. With all the innocence of her age, she told the director of the kindergarten she does not like Lucas: "It's ugly and he has a penis." The director would like to laugh and explains that all boys and all men have a penis, but Clara insists: "But his cock is stiff."

Vinterberg draws us into his perverse game in an extremely malicious. It inflicts cruel: we, the viewers, are on the side of those who know. We know that about the little girl just a porn picture as its big brother had shown him and now she dégurgite. By cons, the film's plot is led by those who know nothing and doubted much. They overprotect surinterprètent the girl and her words.

Putting words into the mouth

The infernal machine, calumny and suspicion accelerates while the girl would like to resume ("He did nothing. I said stupid things"). In vain. The director, psychologist, parents and friends refuse to accept the truth. They prefer to put the words they want to hear from the lips of the girl: "My daughter, it is difficult to understand, your brain does not remember."

The story is built with an extreme perfidy. Every step, every gesture will betray the truth and block the road to the acquittal of the accused. The director maintains a voluntary disorder: Assimilate about a child, bluntly, a lie is a sacrilege in a society obsessed with pedophilia. Vinterberg brought tension to the point where the audience applauded when Lucas gives an impulse to one of his slanderers.

"Thought is a virus"

Mads Mikkelsen plays with extraordinary clarity and a considerable astonishment the lead role. Danish filmmaker wants above all to demonstrate that "thought is a virus" that no evidence can stop. To do all that fails Vinterberg normally expected of an accused in this situation: take a lawyer for the police, demanding justice, protesting his innocence, ask for clarification from his friends. Vinterberg, on the contrary, Lucas exposes the popular verdict. These are best friends and his entourage who spread the accusation that turns into a manhunt where reputation is destroyed by hints and half-truths. A sly and very effective film.

Vinterbergs endelige comeback

KULTUR 19.05.12 kl. 23:54

Ikke siden ”Festen” har Thomas Vinterberg lavet en så ond og vellykket film som "Jagten".
”Den vinder Den Gyldne Palme” bryder en ung journalist spontant ud, da der bliver blændet op for lyset i Salle Debussé.

Han giver endog en ekstra klapsalve, mens han bevæger sig ud af salen.

Den første officielle visning af ”Jagten” vakte begejstring, om end også andre mere kritiske røster lod sig høre i debatten umiddelbart efter visningen i aften. For ligetil til at blive belønnet i Cannes, der skal præsentere filmkunst snarere end filmhåndværk, mumles der. Men det er en kunst at gribe fat i struben på publikum og holde fast til allersidste sekund. Og dét gør Vinterberg så eftertrykkeligt i sin jublende gode ”Jagten”.

Kvalmende ondskab

Den kvalmende ondskab, som Thomas Vinterberg blotlægger, lægger sig som en tung knude i maven, og retfærdig harme kæmper med tårerne om at dryppe ned på pressekortet, der hænger slapt rundt om halsen i biografmørket.

Filmen om børnehavepædagogen Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen), der bliver uretfærdigt anklaget for at have forgrebet sig på sin bedste vens datter, er en følelsesmæssig centrifugetur, der aldrig skummer over i melodrama. Børnehavelederen (gement godt portrætteret af Susse Wold), omgangskredsen og lokalsamfundet hopper alt for hurtigt på løgnehistorien om, at Lucas skulle have vist sin tissemand til en lille pige.

Børn lyver ikke, hedder det. Men det gør de i ”Jagten”, og det får fatale konsekvenser for den uskyldige voksne. Ligesom i ”Festen” tager Vinterberg (denne gang i samarbejde med med-manusforfatter Tobias Lindholm) fat i tabuet børnemishandling, men denne gang fra det andet perspektiv. Lucas er nemlig ikke noget kældermenneske. Uden at afsløre for meget, så gælder det på flere niveauer.

Kærlig og stille desperat

Mads Mikkelsen leverer noget nær sin bedste præstation nogensinde. Han er kærlig, vegt tilbageholdende og stille desperat som Lucas. Kun få gange eksploderer han i voldsomme udbrud, og det på en måde, så det slår gnister helt ned på de bagerste rækker i biografen.

Den distance til den tragiske anklage, som Mikkelsens spil lægger, er af afgørende betydning for, at filmen ikke bliver fladtrådt og ligetil. Netop i skuespillet antydes en uafklaret dybde, som klæder historien, der sådan set er helt ligetil.

Umanerligt talent

Vinterberg viser her et umanerligt talent for at instruere skuespillere, ikke mindst børne- og ungeskuespillerne er fremragende. Ja selv Thomas Bo Larsen spiller for en gangs skyld ikke bare Thomas Bo Larsen.

Lucas og hans venner går på jagt, og selvom det nok er en temmelig tydelig symbolsk ramme for fortællingen, så fungerer de naturbilleder, der knyttes til deres hobby, som både smukke og sjælfulde åndehuller i filmen, der skyder sig lige ind i kvalmecenteret og balancenerven. Jeg var i hvert fald helt oprevet og rundtosset af ”Jagten”.

Vinterberg's final comeback

Not since the "Feast", Thomas Vinterberg made such a vicious and successful movies like "Raiders."

"The winner of the Palme d'Or" like a young journalist spontaneously out since being dazzled up the light in the Salle Debussé.

He gives even an extra round of applause as he moves out of the hall.

The first official display of the "chase" aroused enthusiasm, although also other, more critical voices were heard in the debate immediately after the screening tonight. For straightforward to be rewarded in Cannes to present the cinema rather than film crafts, mumbled there. But it's an art to grab the throat of the audience and stick to the very last second. And that makes Vinterberg so emphatically in his jubilant good "hunting".

Qual Mende evil

The nauseating evil, as Thomas Vinterberg exposes, settles like a heavy lump in his stomach, and righteous indignation struggling with tears to drip down on the press card hanging limply around the neck of the cinematic darkness.

The film about kindergarten teacher Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen), who is unjustly accused of abusing his best friend's daughter is an emotional centrifugetur that never frothing over into melodrama. Preschool Head (mitment well portrayed by Susse Wold), acquaintances and community jump too quickly to lie the story that Lucas should have shown his penis to a baby girl.

Children do not lie, they say. But they do in "Raiders" and it will have fatal consequences for innocent adults. As in "Feast" takes Vinterberg (this time in collaboration with co-writer Tobias Lindholm) grab taboo child abuse, but this time from another perspective. Lucas is not anything cellar man. Without revealing too much, then it is on several levels.

Affectionate and quiet desperation

Mads Mikkelsen delivers something close to his best performance ever. He is loving, weight restrained and quiet desperation as Lucas. Few times he explodes in violent eruptions, and in a way that sparks beats down on the back rows in the cinema.

The distance to the tragic indictment that Mikkelsen's game down is crucial to the film not being flat entry and straightforward. Precisely in the play suggests an undetermined depth robes history that such a view is quite straightforward.

Umanerligt talent

Vinterberg is showing a umanerligt talent for directing actors, especially children and young actors are excellent. Even Thomas Bo Larsen plays for once not just Thomas Bo Larsen.

Lucas and his friends go hunting, and although it is probably a pretty obvious symbolic framework for the story, so they act natural images that are attached to their hobby that is both beautiful and soulful breathing holes in the film, which shoots straight into the nausea center and balance nerve . I was certainly very upset and dizzy from "The Hunt".

Anmelderne i svime over Jagten

FILM & TV 20.05.12 kl. 00:50, Ritzau

Thomas Vinterbergs film er blevet vist for verdenspressen i Cannes. De rosende ord står i kø fra anmelderne
Der blev grinet og klappet i en stopfuld Salle Debussy festivalpalæet i Cannes lørdag aften, da Thomas Vinterbergs film "Jagten" løb over lærredet til verdenspremieren ved filmfestivalen.

Og det internationale pressekorps er begejstret efter visningen.

- Jeg synes, den var fremragende. Den behandler et stort og tungt emne, og det blev gjort fremragende og med stor finesse, siger Emma Charlton fra det franske nyhedsbureau AFP.

Hun bakkes op af Kristoffer Viita, anmelder fra på programmet Kulturnyheterne ved Sveriges Television (SVT).

- Filmen var på alle måder perfekt. Den var fantastisk. Der var ikke en scene for meget. Jeg var næsten ved at græde et par gange, og jeg er vild med at publikumklapper, fordi de bliver så berørte. Jeg blev også trukket med ind i det, siger hun.

Rosende ord i kø

De rosende ord står nærmest i kø fra anmelderne, der vurderer, at Vinterbergs film har gode chancer i opløbet mod de 21 andre film i hovedkonkurrencen, der kæmper om Den Gyldne Palme.

- Det er en stærk udfordrer, konstaterer Emma Charlton fra AFP og fortsætter:

- Jeg ved ikke, om juryen mener det samme, men filmen er en indtagende og dragende historie fortalt på en mesterlig måde, og æstetisk er den også meget indtagende. Det er afgjort en af de stærkeste film i konkurrencen indtil videre.

Den tidligere Guldpalmevinder Michael Hanekes film "Amour", der endnu ikke er blevet vist i Cannes, vurderes til at være den største forhindring for en dansk Guldpalme.

- "Jagten" er helt sikkert en stærk kandidat til Guldpalmen. Jeg har ikke set Michael Hanekes film endnu, men hvis han ikke leverer varen, kan det her være en vinder, siger Kristoffer Viita fra SVT.

Critics wowed by The Hunt

Thomas Vinterberg's film has been shown to the world press in Cannes. They praise queuing from critics

There was laughing and clapped in a full stop Salle Debussy Festival Palace in Cannes on Saturday night when Thomas Vinterberg's film "Raiders" ran across the canvas for the world premiere of the film festival.

And the international press corps is excited by the view.

- I think it was excellent. It addresses a large and heavy item, and it was excellent, with great finesse, says Emma Charlton from the French news agency AFP.

She is backed by Kristoffer Viita, critic of the program Kulturnyheterne by Sveriges Television (SVT).

- The film was in every way perfect. It was amazing. There was a scene too much. I was almost about to cry a few times and I love that the audience clapping because they are so concerned. I was also dragged into it, she says.

Tributes in queue

They praise virtually queue from critics who believe that Vinterberg's film has a good chance in the running against 21 other films in the main competition, vying for the Palme d'Or.

- It is a strong contender, says Emma Charlton from AFP, adding:

- I do not know if the jury feels the same, but the film is an endearing and fascinating story told in a masterly way, and aesthetically it is also very endearing. It is definitely one of the strongest films in the competition so far.

The former Palme d'Or winner Michael Hanekes film "Amour", which has not yet been shown at Cannes, considered to be the biggest obstacle to a Danish Palme d'Or.

- "The Hunt" is certainly a strong candidate for gold palm. I have not seen Michael Hanekes movie yet, but if he does not deliver, it may here be a winner, says Kristoffer Viita from SVT.

Vinterberg-film udløste stort bifald

FILM & TV 19.05.12 kl. 22:16

Filmen blev vist i den næststørste biograf i festivalpalæet, der var fyldt til sidste plads

Cannes

Thomas Vinterberg er nu definitivt tilbage i i filmbyen Cannes, og den danske instruktørs "Jagten" høstede ifølge folk, der følger det officielle program, konkurrencens hidtil suverænt største bifald.

Filmen blev vist for pressen kl. 19.30, og biografen Debussy, den næststørste i festivalpalæet, var fyldt til sidste plads og flere pressefolk måtte gå forgæves og forsøge at fange filmen ved senere visninger.

"Jagten" handler om en nylig fraskilt pædagog, Lucas, spillet af Mads Mikkelsen, der uretmæssigt bliver beskyldt for at have udsat børn for seksuelle overgreb. Beskueren ved fra begyndelsen, at han er uskyldig, og herfra følger man mandens vej mod afgrunden. Lokalsamfundet vender sig mod ham, og han må slås for det umulige: at bevise sin uskyld.

Falsk historie

Under visningen levede salen med, og da Lucas på et tidspunkt kvitterer for at have fået bank i et supermarked ved at slå tilbage med en skalle, jublede halvdelen af salen. Filmen betjener sig også af den "comic relief", der fik "Festen" til at glide ned trods incesttemaet, og publikum lo højt talrige gange ved visningen.

Thomas Vinterbergs maskot Thomas Bo Larsen spiller faderen til den pige, der udløser hele miseren med sin falske historie, og Susse Wold kan man opleve uden sin vanlige divakappe i rollen som institutionsleder. Filmen er produceret af Zentropa.

Jyllands-Postens kritiker Nanna Frank Rasmussen så filmen kl. 19.30 og er klar med sin vurdering af filmen senere i aften.

Vinterberg film sparked loud applause
The film was shown in the second largest theater festival in the palace, which was filled to capacity
Cannes

Thomas Vinterberg's now definitely back ii movie city of Cannes, the Danish director's "Raiders" harvested according to people who follow the official program, the competition so far by far the largest applause.

The film was shown at the press. 19.30, and the Debussy cinema, the second largest festival in the palace, was filled to capacity and several journalists had to go in vain and try to catch the movie later views.

"Raiders" is about a recently divorced teacher, Lucas, played by Mads Mikkelsen, who is wrongfully accused of having exposed children to sexual abuse. The viewer knows from the beginning that he is innocent, and from here you follow the man's way to the abyss. The community turns against him, and he must fight for the impossible: to prove his innocence.

Fake History

During the preview, living room with, and when Lucas at one point acknowledges having received bank in a supermarket by beating back with a skull, cheered half of the hall. The film also makes use of the "comic relief" that was "feast" to slide down despite the incest theme, and the audience laughed out loud numerous times by the view.

Thomas Vinterberg's mascot Thomas Bo Larsen plays the father of the girl who triggers the whole problem with his false story, and Susse Wold can experience without her usual diva mantle in the role of the institution. The film is produced by Zentropa.

Jyllands-Posten's critic Nanna Frank Rasmussen saw the movie at. 19.30 and is ready with its assessment of the movie later tonight.

TIFF 2012 Review: THE HUNT Searches for Provocation (and Finds it in an Unexpected Place)

Kurt Halfyard, 10. September 2012, 9:15 am

There is no arguing the craft on display in Thomas Vinterberg's small-town, big-drama showcase The Hunt. Mads Mikkelsen turns in the performance of his career - and if you look back on his career so far, that is an impressive feat - as Lucas, a volunteer teacher at a kindergarden school who is accused and, later, ritually abused by his own friends and neighbors after one of his students, young Klara, in a fit of childish pique accuses him of 'pointing his willie' at her. The cinematography, all warm and woody prior to the accusation turns all white and frigid when the milk is spilt. The supporting characters all play their parts to whip the audience into a conflicting bit of rage at how a) we hate pedophiles and b) how we hate to see others rush to judgement.

Sure, it feels OK when we do it.

When I see the Zentropa logo come up in front of a film, my knee-jerk reaction is that the film will be a provocation. After all, Lars von Trier is not only one of the co-founders of the company that deals in that sort of cinema, but he created the Dogme95 movement with Vinterberg as well. Their previous effort Dear Wendy springs to mind as something that is both hysterical and hysterically funny. The Hunt is not that exactly, its satire more sublimated; it aims to tickle a slightly more refined dramatic palette. But it is guilty of leading the witness, both literally in one particular interrogation in the film, and figuratively as it piles on a lot of emotional baggage instead of letting Mikkelsen's fab performance stand on his own.

Lucas is going through a chilly divorce with custody of his teenage son in the balance, but otherwise he is a 'head held high, feet on the ground' sort of guy in town and a central figure in the circle of men (who hunt) in the rural community. In particular, his best friend Theo, who is father of Kayla, has a long standing friendship based partly in male goofing off, but warm and trusting. He is tentatively dating the only non-local (English speaking) woman at the kindergarden school and he seems to have the most fun at the school with the kids. Hell, it's Christmas! If you've watched movies before, then you know where this is going. You will intuitively feel the beats of this story, even as Vinterberg does his best to keep the audience on its toes with weird indicators and ominously misleading bits of foreshadowing.

The curious thing about the picture is that despite it being an act of empathy for Lucas, even if his only flaw is casual aloofness, it is equally a savage attack on all the women in town. The principal of the kindergarden (and her forever nodding sewing circle of volunteers) is at best incompetent, at worst dangerous; the soon to be ex-wife is absent, unless you count Lucas' dog angrily barking every time her name is spoken aloud; the new girlfriend is easily pushed away after she hesitates in her convictions towards defending Lucas, and then just as easily drifts back in later in the picture. Even worse is Theo's wife Agnes, who either plays the men against one another passive-aggressively or tries to avoid direct confrontation by running away.

If von Trier turns his women (Antichrist notwithstanding) into otherworldly martyrs, Vinterberg seems to be aiming for shrews. Once this pops out at you, it's hard to watch the film where the flawed but forgiving men do all the thinking and soul-searching, while the women yell 'FIRE' in the crowded theatre, and duck out by the service exit. Even Kayla, ably played by young Annika Wedderkopp, takes her leave for the middle bulk of the movie once she gets the ball rolling.

The Hunt postulates that decorum and discretion, once the ugly-cat is out of the bag, is a useless gesture; the only way to get things done is direct and to the point male rudeness. It suggests we let the men wrassle in the corner and then hug afterwards, because the women are not going to solve this thing (and even then, there is going to be lingering poison and scar tissue.) I cannot wait to read the inevitable Women's Studies PhD thesis on this movie. Zentropa does it again!

TIFF in a capsule: 'The Company You Keep' and 'The Hunt'

BY: DAVID VOIGT, SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

During a major international film festival like the Toronto International Film Festival going on right now until Sept 16th at theatres all across the city of Toronto, time is often quite precious between screenings as the films are coming at the viewers at an incredibly fast rate. As we look at ‘TIFF in a capsule’ once again we delve into some of the darker areas of society and acceptable behavior in two very different ways. It’s time to get back on the festival trail with “The Company You Keep” & “The Hunt”.

“The Company You Keep” follows Jim Grant (Robert Redford), a civil rights lawyer and single father, who must go on the run when a brash young reporter (Shia LaBeouf) exposes his true identity as a former 1970s radical fugitive wanted for murder. Sparking a nationwide manhunt, Grant sets off on a cross‐country journey to clear his name, while the reporter digs even deeper into his past. Adapted from the novel by Neil Gordon; “The Company You Keep” is easily one of the more accessible films that Redford has directed in recent years. Rather than hitting the viewer over the head again and again with his political message he manages to wrap it up quite nicely inside the frame work of a thriller that is reminiscent of the political thrillers of the 1970’s some of which Redford even starred in. With an over loaded ensemble cast that suffers through a little bit of over casting as one scene from the next brings a cavalcade of award winning actors along with a solid yet slightly unrealistic performance from Redford who was running from cars and hopping over fences in this one at 76 years old, this was an accessible and entertaining thriller that won’t turn off any moviegoers who may not agree with Redford’s politics. It was very solid cinematic entertainment from top to bottom.

“The Hunt” starring Mads Mikkelsen is a disturbing story about how lies can be perceived as truth; with devastating results. Lucas (Mikkelsen) is a humble kindergarten teacher. Just as he is recovering from a tough divorce, one of his students falsely claims that Lucas exposed himself to her. That ignites a witch hunt, with just about everyone ostracizing Lucas, including his deer-hunting buddies. Co-writer/director Thomas Vinterberg doesn’t exactly have a track record of making emotionally uplifting films, but with “The Hunt we get a jarring and intense experience at the theatre. Films like this being and end with the performance from their lead and in this film we get a stunning turn from the always excellent Mads Mikkelsen. As Lucas, we don’t get histrionics or campy over acting from Mikkelsen but we do get the sense of a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders as the facts quickly get distorted and blurred in the spirit of protecting the children. Vinterberg paints a very stark emotional canvas but a seemingly realistic one as well, as this man’s life and his town that turns on him in the blink of an eye making him a pariah who may never regain his standing, regardless of the truth. That in concert with Mikkelsen who is just heartbreaking we are sucked into the scary realities of this man’s life and it makes for one of the more thrilling and compelling watches of the festival so far.

“The Company You Keep” has one more screening today at the TIFF Bell Lightbox at 11:15AM and will be released at some point in the near future from our friends at eOne Films. “The Hunt” has two screenings during TIFF, tonight at 9:15PM and on Wednesday the 12th at 3PM both taking place at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, “The Hunt” will be released next spring in Canada from our friends at Mongrel Media. You can visit the TIFF website right here for more information on these or any other films playing during the festival.

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La Chasse

Editors Score: 8/10

Cyril Perraudat

Thomas Vinterberg est en compétition au Festival de Cannes 2012 avec La Chasse, dans lequel on trouve Mads Mikkelsen.

Thomas Vinterberg s'était déjà fait remarquer il y a 15 ans de cela avec Festen, où on vivait l'explosion d'une famille. Le voilà de retour dans la compétition avec La Chasse, dont le premier rôle est tenu par Mads Mikkelsen, que le grand public a découvert en méchant de James Bond dans Casino Royale. Ici on attaque un sujet sensible. En effet, on y suit Lucas, homme divorcé travaillant dans un centre de loisirs pour enfant, qui va voir sa vie basculer le jour où la petite Karla va insinuer, lors d'une discussion avec la directrice, qu'elle aurait été abusée sexuellement par Lucas, alors qu'en réalité il ne s'est rien passé. De ce mensonge va découler une hystérie collective qui va mener les habitants de la ville à prendre Lucas pour un dangereux criminel

Thomas Vinterberg s'en sort ici très bien en traitant cette histoire, où un petit rien enchaîne sur une grande hystérie collective effrayante où la suspicion et la croyance en la parole d'un enfant débouche sur la martyrisation d'un homme qui n'a rien demandé. L'engrenage est ici méticuleusement démontré avec crédibilité, d'une directrice se posant des questions à l'emballement dans le jugement par la population. Il montre ainsi la réaction assez compréhensible de suspicion jusqu'à ce qu'elle dégénère en persécution envers un homme dont la seule source de culpabilité repose sur la parole erronée d'un enfant. Aucune humiliation et tourment ne sera épargné à celui-ci, brillamment incarné par Mads Mikkelsen, dont le jeu tout en subtilité donne une vraie force à ce métrage où le spectateur, étant témoin de cette injustice, ne peut qu'être atteint par cette histoire qui pourrait arriver à n'importe qui et qui montre que les soupçons populaires peuvent être d'une terreur sans nom et les rancunes mal placées tenaces, même dans un entourage que l'on croit proche.

Thomas Vinterberg livre avec La Chasse un drame assez poignant démontrant le calvaire d'un homme présumé coupable à tort. Madds Mikkelsen y effectue une interprétation formidable.

The Hunt

Editors Score: 8/10

Cyril Perraudat

Thomas Vinterberg is in competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2012 with The Hunt, in which we find Mads Mikkelsen.

Thomas Vinterberg had already pointed out 15 years ago this with Festen, where we lived the explosion of a family. He is back in the competition with Hunt , the first of which is played by Mads Mikkelsen, the general public found in James Bond villain in Casino Royale . Here we attack a sensitive subject. Indeed, there follows Lucas, divorced man working in a recreation center for children, who will see his life turned upside down the day the small Karla will insinuate, in a discussion with the director, she was sexually abused by Lucas, when in reality it does not happen. Result of this lie is a collective hysteria that will lead the people of the city to take Lucas for a dangerous criminal.

Thomas Vinterberg 's doing very well here in dealing with this story, where a small nothing connects on a big scary hysteria where suspicion and belief in the word of a child leads to martyrisation a man who has asked anything. The gear is meticulously demonstrated here with credibility, a director asking questions to runaway in the judgment by the population. He shows the reaction quite understandable suspicion until it degenerates into persecution against a man whose only source of guilt based on the wrong speech of a child. No humiliation and torment will be spared to it, brilliantly played by Mads Mikkelsen, whose game while subtlety gives a real force in this film where the viewer is witness to this injustice, can only be achieved by this story could happen to anyone and that shows that popular suspicion can be a nameless terror and stubborn grudges misplaced, even in an environment that is believed to close.

Book with Thomas Vinterberg Hunting quite poignant drama showing the plight of a man wrongly presumed guilty. Madds there Mikkelsen makes a great interpretation.

Valhalla Rising (2009) Movie Review

GAZZ OGDEN MAY 2, 2010 POSTED IN » DANISH MOVIE REVIEWS, EUROPEAN MOVIE REVIEWS, REVIEWS, VALHALLA RISING (2009) MOVIE

Having recently watched “Outlander”, I came to the inevitable conclusion that any further Viking movie that didn’t have giant aliens in it would not be worth my time. Turns out I was wrong. “Valhalla Rising” doesn’t have any aliens in it and is still very good. So good in fact, that it probably wouldn’t have benefitted from aliens – actually aliens MIGHT EVEN HAVE RUINED IT.

So how does this alien-lite viking movie pan out? Well, it starts with a bit of fighting – always a good thing – then it progresses with a bit of walking, then there’s a fight, then some more walking, then someone gets hit with an arrow, then a bit more walking, then some fighting, then walking, then a quick fight, then a bit more walking, then some talking, and then something happened at the end but I have no idea what.

So if this sounds like the film for you, then you’re in luck. But if it doesn’t (hint: there’s too much walking) then you might want to steer clear of “Valhalla Rising”. Especially if you’re a fan of films like the aforementioned “Outlander”, or “Pathfinder”, or any other action-heavy period film – because you won’t find much of that here. What you will find is existential meandering, dreamlike psychedelia, lots of staring into the distance and a large amount of silence. Doesn’t sound like party-central does it?

Well it’s not. It’s more concerned with looking into the human psyche, by way of our central character – One-Eye, played by Mads Mikkelsen – who takes us on a journey to the Holy land on some sort of crusade with a rag-tag group of other warriors. This journey consists mainly of mute wandering, but is pierced intermittently with bouts of shocking and unflinching violence. “Valhalla Rising” is not an action film in the slightest sense of the phrase (even if there are a few exciting sequences) and is far more centered on metaphorical imagery and disorientating non-linear drifting.

BOOOOOORIIING!

Well, it’s not actually. There’s something about this film that keeps you glued to the screen – whether it’s the surreal, illusory direction by Nicholas Winding Refn, the mysterious, foreboding elements of the cryptic plot or the fantastically subtle performance from Mikkelsen, there remains that special something that makes it worth watching.

Particularly Mikkelsen in fact. Having seen him in “Clash of the Titans” I assumed he’d be playing the same type of part here. I was wrong again. In “Titans” he plays your bog-standard warrior who’s pretty good at fighting etc big wow oooooh I’m scared what you gonna do about it, but in “Rising” all the machismo is played down and hidden behind a weathered face that does all the talking his muteness won’t allow. Until that is, he has to fight someone. Then the latent masculinity comes powering to the fore and jizzes all over the screen in an explosion of hardness that makes One-Eye one of the most powerful and frightening screen warriors to ever smash someone in the face.

A strong lead is essential in a film as enigmatic as this, for the vague and puzzling nature of the plot would force the audience away were it not for an engaging central performance to rein them back in. Luckily Mikkelsen is here to save the day, and he displays such a magnetism that it’s hard to draw your eyes away from him. Oh and really hard vikings are pretty cool anyway.

“Valhalla Rising” is something that must be seen – even if you don’t enjoy it, which I’m sure many won’t – as it’s a film which isn’t afraid to try something a little bit left-field with an established and well-worn genre. Nicholas Winding Refn has crafted an unusual but highly watchable dreamscape that goes against the grain in so many ways yet still draws you in and presents you with a film that is at once terrifying, at others intriguing but always highly involving.

Good luck trying to figure out what the fuck happens at the end though.