The Hunt (Jagten)

— A look at man’s animal side, at a tendency toward herd behavior, and at unjustifiable self-righteousness. An innocent man is ostracized when a young girl is coaxed into describing an incident that never occurred. Soon he is living a full-fledged nightmare as the town turns on him, refusing to believe the girl when she takes back the accusation. Before long, the adults have other children imagining events that never happened and making accusations. It becomes a frightening witch hunt as we watch first his best friend, the girl’s father, then his other friends, and soon shopkeepers and anyone else who hears the lies and joins the pack, turn on him. One scene, where the man’s son stands up for him only to be physically attacked by the angry mob, is particularly disturbing. The pack is out of control and the sad thing is that the scenario is so believable and I can imagine some righteous citizens seeing the price this one man pays as acceptable. Maybe that’s why the ending of “The Hunt” (DVD) attempts to offset what’s happened, to the detriment of what otherwise is an excellent film.

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[2012. 115 min. Directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, and Annika Wedderkopp.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-hunt-2013