The Hunt (Jagten)
Contemporary World Cinema
Thomas Vinterberg / Feature Narrative / Denmark / 2012 / 111 min / Unknown / DCP
In Danish / Arabic, English subtitles
Interests: Drama
Gulf Premiere
Synopsis
With ‘The Hunt’, Danish director Thomas Vinterberg returns to the hypocrisies that can underlie community bonds, the sanctity of the family and the innocence of children – themes that vaulted him to international acclaim for 1998’s ‘The Celebration’. Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen, in a shattering performance that earned him the best actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival) is recovering from a messy divorce; he has a new job as a kindergarten teacher, and he is soon to gain custody of his beloved teenage son. Well-liked by the children under his care, the gentle, unassuming man is lifelong friends and hunting buddies with Theo and Bruun. When Theo’s daughter falsely accuses Lucas of inappropriate sexual behaviour, friendships dissolve, rumours and lies spread like wildfire, and Lucas becomes the town pariah. Fear is sometimes more powerful than truth – and a man’s reputation is a small price to pay to keep up appearances.
About the Directors
Thomas Vinterberg was born in Copenhagen in 1969. His second feature, ‘Festen’, made under the rules of the Dogme 95 Manifesto, won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2008. Other films are ‘Last Round’ (short, 1993), ‘The Boy Who Walked Backwards’ (short, 1995), ‘The Biggest Heroes’ (1996), ‘It’s All About Love’ (2003), ‘Dear Wendy’ (2005), ‘A Man Comes Home’ (2007) and ‘Submarino’ (2010).
Credits
- Director
- Thomas Vinterberg
- Screenwriter
- Tobias Lindholm, Thomas Vinterberg
- Producer
- Morten Kaufmann, Sisse Graum Jørgensen
- Editor
- Anne 0sterud, Janus Billeskov Jansen
- Music
- Nikolaj Egelund
- Cinematographer
- Charlotte Bruus Christensen
- Cast
- Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp, Lasse Fogelstrøm, Susse Wold, Anne Louise Hassing