The Hunt

Some of the best drama seems to be coming from Scandinavian countries these days. And this film is no exception.
Many of you may know that I completed a university degree in Primary school teaching, so I am somewhat familiar with what happens to our lead character, Lucas in this film. My friends and relatives often ask me why I have never used my teaching degree. For one of the reasons you need look no further than this film. It is not only a scary film for male teachers but for men in general. I get the feeling that there is a lot of reports of people, young and old, who are making reports about being inappropriately touched by men when they were children. The biggest area of concern has been the Catholic church. While this film does not deal with a priest it takes an average man and put him in an incredibly difficult situation. It is so easy for harmless encounters to be misinterpreted and taken out of context. Men are becoming scared of touching not only other people's children but their own as well. This film is excellent at portraying how children can be easily manipulated. I know that touching children inappropriately is wrong and those who do it should be punished but I think people go overboard in their reaction when discovered. The way adults handle this situation, especially when questioning the child is questioned. Then the way everyone turns on Lucas is a big over reaction. The situation while troubling is totally believable. I felt like this is something that could really happen and that makes it an incredibly scary film.
Mad Mikkelsen usually plays the bad guy in films. But here he is a good guy accused of being a bad guy. He is brilliant at being an average guy who gets caught up in a difficult situation. While does do some silly things he is still a very sympathetic character and Mads makes him feel very real. Thomas Bo Larson is very good as Lucas's best friend and eventual enemy. It does seem a little implausible that he would turn on his friend so quickly. One minor problem I did have was that Thomas has a beard which is not doubt real but looks really fake. The film's best performance though is by little Annika Wedderkopp as the little girl at the centre of the controversy. She gives a very naturalistic performance for someone of such a young age.
People often wonder why less men are becoming teachers, you need look no further than this film. You would not categorize this as a horror film but it is still an incredibly scary film that every male teacher should watch.