There is an interesting psychology surrounding films where we are either repulsed or made angry while watching them yet still resonate as a fine cinematic experience or something we admire for its craft and importance. This is nothing new in a world where disturbing true stories are brought to the screen every winter in hopes of Awards contention, but when they are done extremely well it brings up how striking the line is between how this can be classified as entertainment yet we feel nothing but irritated and somewhat put off by the content of the tale we just witnessed. Such is the case with
The Hunt, a Danish film from director Thomas Vinterberg that focuses on the perception of one man by people who thought they knew and trusted him, but are inclined to think differently based on things that come to light under a misguided investigation. It is a gut wrenching set of circumstances that set-up the fateful lie in which the story revolves around and if re-told as anything more than pure fact would indeed sound like it was being made up. The crutch that the film leans on though is that this man, our protagonist and who the film wisely sets up as trustworthy and completely innocent from the beginning in our all-knowing perspective is that he is by all accounts a well-respected and well-liked piece of this small communal fabric. The small town in which the tale takes place is itself a picturesque village with large houses and scenery to rest your eyes on for days with a strong, core companionship between the citizens that relays to each of them depending on one another to continue going about their daily lives in such peace. So, when an unexpected scandal hits the quiet town and it comes from within what was presumed a tightly woven fabric things begin to unravel quicker and uglier than any of these people would have likely ever imagined. It is easy for us to see the truth of the situation, but almost just as easy is to see how things become so misconstrued and even further, just how easy it would be to assume what the majority believes as those outside the situation no doubt do. The way in which it resonates throughout and loses more of the critical detail as it does so; we likely see it happen everyday, especially in our gossip-fueled society, but
The Hunt brings to the forefront the reality of just how far misplaced power can be taken when perception is mistaken for unquestionable emotions.
