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Jagten (2012)

Director:
Thomas Vinterberg
INTERNATIONAL TITLE
The Hunt
COUNTRY
Denmark
GENRE
Drama
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Jakten
RUNNING TIME
115 minutes
Producer:
Morten Kaufmann
Sisse Graum Jørgensen
Thomas Vinterberg
Screenwriter:
Tobias Lindholm
Thomas Vinterberg


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Lucas Mads Mikkelsen ½
Nadja, Lucas' girlfriend Alexandra Rapaport
Theo, Lucas' best friend Thomas Bo Larsen
Grethe Susse Wold
Bruun, Lucas' brother Lars Ranthe
Agnes, Theo's wife Anne Louise Hassing
Ole Bjarne Henriksen
Klara Annika Wedderkopp
Marcus Lasse Fogelstrøm

 

Review

Dogme 95 filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg is the man behind this hard-hitting film about an important theme, namely false accusations and mass hysteria – in this case concerning child molestation. Vinterberg, who was one of the founding fathers of the Dogme 95 movement, has this time put aside the rigid allegiance to the Dogme 95 rules which we saw in his breakout film Festen, and as such, Jagten is more traditional stylistically, even if it still contains dogme elements. To put it another way, Jagten is far more assured and balanced formally. The result is a more efficient film; one that never threatens to become a caricature of itself. Mads Mikkelsen is at the centre of everyone's attention, and his strong performance carries the film forward. His work is make or break for the film's effect. The most interesting, or perhaps wily, aspect of Jagten is not necessarily the portrait of mass hysteria and denunciation in a local community itself, but rather how the Mikkelsen character's disbelief and stubbornness – ie. his inability to fully grasp what is about to happen around him, and his (rightful) unwillingness to take responsibility for it – fuels the fire and intensifies the situation. In many ways, Jagten is a recipe for all the wrong ways to act in a situation like this, for parties on both sides of the table, and it is all painfully relevant when taking into account that there are several examples of similar situations from real life.

Copyright © 6.11.2017 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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