Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

The Hunt Blu-ray Movie Review

Yesterday He Was Our Friend

Reviewed by Michael Reuben December 9, 2013

The most striking feature of The Hunt, Thomas Vinterberg's cautionary tale about a small Danish town's persecution of one of its own, is how normal everything looks on the surface, and yet how unsettling, for reasons you can't quite identify, even from the opening frames. Inspired by reports from a child psychologist acquaintance who believed that "thought is a virus", and working from a script written with Tobias Lindholm (A Hijacking ), Vinterberg has created a story in which normality itself teems with danger, where familiar streets and the people you see every day may suddenly become a foreign land where you are the alien.

Vinterberg is best known for The Celebration (Festen), the first film released under the attention-grabbing "Dogme 95" code created with Lars von Trier, but he has moved away from Dogme's constraints (although not nearly as far as von Trier, whose Wagnerian special effects in Melancholia are the very essence of what Dogme rejected). Vinterberg now takes a director's credit and shoots in widescreen, among other Dogme violations, but he still adheres to the Dogme spirit of returning film to its roots in personal drama. (It's no accident that Vinterberg, like many of Hollywood's greatest directors from its golden age, also directs productions for the stage.) The Hunt eschews any effort to make moral or political pronouncements, which is the temptation that often undercuts von Trier's work. It simply observes a series of relationships and interactions—within families, between generations, inside established social groups—while a confluence of circumstances creates an explosive mixture, and an apparently close-knit society is blown apart.

The Hunt is set in an unidentified small town in present-day Denmark. Lucas (the extraordinary Mads Mikkelsen) is a kindergarten teacher who has lived there all his life, as has his family before him. At the moment, Lucas lives alone, after what was apparently a bitter divorce from his wife, Kirsten (Katrine Brygmann, a voice on the phone). Their teenage son, Marcus (Lasse Fogelstrøm), lives with his mother, but has just announced that he would like to move in with his father, to Lucas' great delight.

Lucas' best friend since childhood is Theo (Thomas Bo Larsen), a gruff and moody man who drinks too much and is married to indulgent Agnes (Anne Louise Hassing). Their son, Torsten (Sebastian Bull Sarning), is friends with Lucas' son, and their young daughter, Klara (Annika Wedderkopp), attends the kindergarten where Lucas teaches. Both Lucas and Theo belong to the local club of hunters who regularly meet during the season to shoot deer, then gather at the home of Bruun (Lars Ranthe) to drink, carouse and swap stories. When Marcus turns seventeen, Lucas wants him to qualify for a hunting license, so that he too can join the group.

Lucas is a popular teacher with the kids in his care, especially Klara, whom he senses has a hard time at home. (She suffers from a mild case of OCD that has her always looking down at the sidewalk so that she doesn't step on any cracks.) He is stunned when one day the principal, Grethe (Susse Wold), informs him that a student has accused him of molestation. We know that the student is Klara, who was hurt when Lucas didn't return an inappropriately affectionate gesture, but Grethe won't tell Lucas who has accused him. Instead, she sends him home, informs Klara's parents of her concerns, and then proceeds to inform the parents of all other kindergartners to watch for any signs of stress associated with the aftermath of sexual abuse.

Vinterberg precisely charts each step in this course of events, including Grethe's summoning of a child psychologist to interview Klara. From a detached position, it's easy to see the miscues and crossed wires as they accumulate such that, even when Klara tries to retract her initial assertion, no one believes her. So concerned is the school with not overlooking a potential threat to the children that her spontaneous lie takes on its own life. Soon, with the encouragement of their parents, other children are coming forward with stories of Lucas' supposed misconduct. In no time, Lucas is transformed from a respected member of the community to an outcast whose patronage isn't wanted at the grocery store. When Marcus arrives to visit his father, he too is ostracized. Lucas' budding romance with Nadja (Alexandra Rapaport), a custodian at the school, suffers as she begins looking at him differently.

Vinterberg's camera captures these developments with an unflinching realism, including the accompanying police investigation and the escalating threats of violence from local citizenry. Much of The Hunt's emotional intensity is due to Mikkelsen's exceptional performance as Lucas, which won him the Best Actor award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Those who only know the actor from his work as the cannibalistic psychiatrist on Hannibal or Le Chiffre in Casino Royale will be shocked at the differences here in the actor's demeanor, haunted countenance and genuine expressions of pain, especially as he witnesses the impact of his predicament on his son. His Lucas is a decent man, but no superhero. He holds his head high for as long as he can, but eventually any normal person would crack under the pressure being applied from all sides, and Lucas reaches his breaking point on Christmas Eve, in a stunning confrontation fueled by rage.

I do not want to give away the film's ending or various key events that occur along the way. (Vinterberg shot at least two endings; an alternate version is included in the extras.) Let's just say that some accusations are unshakeable. Once made, they have to be paid for.

The Hunt Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Hunt was shot on the Arri Alexa Plus by director Vinterberg's regular collaborator Charlotte Bruus Christensen and finished on a digital intermediate. Magnolia Home Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray was presumably sourced from digital files and sports a sharply detailed, noiseless and artifact-free image. Still, as is usually the case with the Alexa, the picture is remarkably film-like in its textures, lacking the hard edges of some digital productions. Blacks are solid, contrast is appropriate and shadow detail is excellent. Since the bulk of the film occurs during November and December, the film is dominated by earth tones and autumnal colors of forests losing their leaves. Snow falls near Christmas, but the whites are not overly bright.

As is its custom, Magnolia has given The Hunt plenty of room to breathe, despite the likelihood that this digitally originated footage could probably compress more tightly without noticeable damage. The average bitrate of 35.99 Mbps is generous by any standard and stands as a reproach to studios that skimp on digital real estate and then expect players and display devices to compensate for (or simply hide) any imperfections.

The Hunt Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Hunt's original Danish 5.1 audio track (with an occasional exchange in English) is presented as lossless DTS-HD MA, and it's a superb track. I can't judge the clarity of the Danish dialogue, but the English, when it occurs, is completely clear. Subtle sounds and environmental cues accompany the action, and although there are no obvious rear channel effects, one has a sense of the entire surround array being utilized. The minimalist score by Nikolaj Egelund, which relies heavily on acoustic guitar, has a distinctive presence.

The Hunt Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Arrow released The Hunt in a Region-B-locked edition in March of this year. However, that version contained only a trailer. Magnolia has added several extras of genuine value.

• Alternate Ending (1080p; 2.35:1; 1:29): This can't be described without spoilers, except to say that it largely tracks the existing ending, except for the final moments.



• Outtakes/Deleted/Extended Scenes (1080p; 2.35:1; 12:23): There are four scenes, of which the longest depicts a tense confrontation between Lucas and Theo that would have occurred much earlier in the film and was probably removed to intensify the impact of scenes in the latter half.



• Making of The Hunt (1080p; 1.78; 6:59): This brief but informative EPK features interviews with Vinterberg and Mikkelsen, both of whom speak in English.



• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2.35:1; 2:09). An honest overview.



• Also from Magnolia Home Entertainment: The disc includes trailers for How I Live Now, Mr. Nobody, Touchy Feely and Blackfish, as well as a promo for AXS TV. These also play at startup, where they can be skipped with the chapter forward button.



• BD-Live: As of this writing, the BD-Live feature provided access to additional trailers for Magnolia features.

The Hunt Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Hunt leaves the viewer disturbed, because it's such an effective reminder of how quickly one can be ejected from society by unforeseen developments beyond our control. No one person is responsible for what happens to Lucas, not even young Klara, who simply succumbs to a child's flash of emotion, which she repeatedly tries to retract. Thereafter, everyone in town, with the exception of Lucas' son and his friend Bruun, plays their part in generating a new and fictitious narrative that transforms Lucas from the good man they knew to a sexual predator they want to cast out. What's remarkable about the process is the speed with which it rushes forward, without anyone being willing—or having the credibility—to stand up and say, "Wait a minute! Let's be sure we're right!" Such thoughtful reflection is an essential human quality, but when creatures react from fear, animal nature takes over. Highly recommended.