The Hunt
Along with Another Round, this is the quickest I’ve given the same director two five stars since Damien Chazelle’s masterstrokes and this nicely cements Thomas Vinterberg as one of the finest directors of our generation as well as Chazelle and Bong, in my opinion.
Vinterberg makes films about sensitive and though-provoking subjects, like alcoholism and sexual abuse, and carries them with care and doesn’t overwhelm with the idea that these subjects are touchy. He writes with a lot of integrity and his subtle nature of filmmaking pays off. There’s no fat on his films - they’re the perfect length and he conveys everything he needs to without a lethargic runtime.
His writing is clever because of a few things. Number one - reverse victimisation and sympathy for the devil. Vinterberg develops his stories and characters in a way where you don’t necessarily sympathise with the conventional option. He deliberately makes it hard for you, leaving you to question things and almost think paradoxically. The Hunt is so goddamn clever because it’s so real and therefore you feel bad for everyone, and you can’t really blame anyone - on paper, sure you’d blame Klara and the family for their consequent reactions, but that’s just what anyone else would do. How can you blame Klara, she’s a kid. And can you blame the parents for how they reacted and how they felt? Not really, you’d do the same. Your constantly battling with yourself as to who to have most understanding for. It’s a topic of morality and society and when children are involved, everything becomes way more complicated and stakes are at their highest - which makes The Hunt a very, very clever story.
Tied in with this, number two, Vinterberg makes everything look and feel so real. He picks normal people with normal lives and turns them upside down because of a small, ‘containable’ bump in the road. It’s real things that could almost happen to all of us, better yet it does happen all the time and that makes it more intense. As well, the story and the reasons that drive it are all brilliantly believable, again making this film a tricky pill to swallow.
Then, your left at the end, like in Another Round too, forever questioning, which leads nicely to number three, the film is left perfectly resolved but the door’s just ajar. There’s a tiny bit of room for uncertainty which is hugely compelling and really powerful, actually. And on the topic of endings, Vinterberg may have dethroned Chazelle. Whiplash and La La Land sure end good (add Babylon for backup) but Vinterberg’s endings are a bit special. There’s a beautiful and perfectly balanced feel to those endings. Another Rounds mixes ecstasy with heartbreak and The Hunt is a swirl of shock and relief at once and both are masterfully poignant and compelling.
On another note, the acting is brilliant. Mads Mikkelsen puts in another stellar performance - an absolute pro and one of the strongest actors of the generation. The child acting is also sublime.
As usual, it’s shot beautifully and understated. There’s a handful of frames in The Hunt which convey more meaning and thought than some whole screenplays and most just look great! And just to promote Vinterberg here, the final dance sequence of Another Round is.. wow.
So let’s just recap here. The acting is fantastic and it’s one of the best actors of the generation’s best performances as well as displaying some of the finest child acting ever on screen. The filming is fantastic and saddles beauty with meaning effortlessly. The story is some of the best writing of the 21st century and combines a sensitive subject with endless poignancy and tricky decisions, leaving you a bit spellbound, plus it’s super clever, overflowing with integrity and, the cherry on top, it’s less than two hours long.
Well.. looks like Whiplash has a run for it’s money. Vinterberg, your a subtle and complete genius.
And, everything said here about The Hunt equally and almost identically applies to Another Round so take this as a joint review and marvel a bit more in this guys work.