The Hunt - Movie Review by Chris Stuckmann 

Probably the most frustrating movie I've ever watched

I liked the ending, the director lulls us into a false sense of happy ending, only to showcase that even after everything seems over - he'll never be completely free of it.

Happened to me once. My little cousin sat on my lap and wouldn't hold still. I didn't think anything of it until my aunt came down and saw us and verbally gasped. I saw her face and then just nudged my cousin off. An hour later after my cousin vanished with my aunt (It might have been 10 minutes but it felt like forever) she comes back with a LOT of odd questions. I answer them honestly - nothing went on, I had nothing to hide. I leave her house and a month goes by and I forget about it. Apparently something similar happened that happened to Klara; leading questions that paint a different picture. Only I didn't have a basement that didn't exist, it was just her and me, and her words against mine. I was 14 at the time and everyone constantly told me (everyone being my family) "It's just what boys do" well it wasn't what I did, it pissed me off to think they so easily doubted me. It wasn't until Christmas came along and my mom left claiming she'd only visit my grandparents' (where the big Christmas party with the whole family happens) and ended up staying several hours causing me to eat alone, that I realized she also thought I was lying and my cousin was telling the whole truth. Like Lucas, I never heard the story of what she was lead to say I did. I only knew that my family didn't like it. It took over a year for things to go back to normality, but once it did it never felt fully reverted. Before it happened, I was the babysitter. I would watch all the little cousins as they bopped around and I tried to get them to stop killing each other but I was the cool cousin so I played along. Now, it feels like there are eyes on me. They no longer trusted me. And it kills me to lose their trust without doing anything with which to warrant the treatment. But you can't fight fate. People just see what they want to see, and children are unfortunately very malleable. "Children do not tell lies."

Damn, i felt so empty when the movie ended.. What an devastating ending

The fact that Lucas never told anyone that Klara had kissed him and given him a heart and that he had to gently try to redirect her affections towards more age appropriate boys THE SAME DAY that she made the accusations drove me nuts. And then that guy comes to question Klara and basically tells her what she experienced and she's just sulkily nodding her head...AAGGGHHHH! This movie was great but it drove me crazy.

Well after that performance, I can't but see all movies with Mads Mikkelson. The guy was absolutely amazing

*SPOILER* The fact he didn't tell anyone about the kiss made sense. Besides, who would believe him. It wouldn't have worked for his case. But what pissed me off the most was how no one knew that Klara learned the dirty phrase from her own brother. The irony that the issue started within their family. The scene where he was crying for her made me mad. Great movie and great actor.

fuck that, this movie unconditionally deserves an A+

this movie is one of the best, most uncomfortable, and heaviest movie ive ever seen. and you know that feeling when you watch or read something and you go "if you say just this one thing it would fix everything!" ya, this movie didnt have that. its a such a twisted issue with no real way of fixing it, and it just makes the ordeal that much more frustrating. the whole time i was sitting there trying to think of someway to do it, but found nothing. this film is ridiculously good, and if you havent seen it, and you have somewhat of an interest, you need to watch it

the part about the subtitles makes me think that Americans really have some issues with reading.. as a Belgian almost everything I watch on tv is subtitled, and it's not even an issue here. It's even a bit weird to watch a movie that is NOT subtitled.

They should make a sequal called 'The Hunt 2: Mads goes Mad' in which Lucas goes mad, and kills everybody in the village.

I actually couldn't finish this film the first time I watched it. It honestly made me feel unwell out of raw sympathy for Mads. I am going to try to watch it again but I am really dreading it.

I almost never ever ever cry in movies, and I'll tell ya...........SPOILER I literally almost lost it when Lucas is pulling his son back into the house after he sees the dog dead. And the son says "She needs to come inside. She's cold." Just sat there for like 5 minutes afterward completely speechless.

I seriously don´t know what the academy actually does because Mads Mikkelsen has not been nominated as the best actor (and he deserved it like hell ! ) and to make things worse this amazingly fantastic strong movie has not win the best foreign movie... The academy sometimes sucks

Reminds of the time I worked in a nursery a decade ago. And a child wrongly accused my colleague of causing a mark on her bum. She was under investigation and me and other colleagues knew she was innocent. She was heartbroken. I ended up finding out the child caused the mark from scratching.

Wow. I just watched this movie and shit, it was really fucking good. That ending.....

I'm working my way through your best of 2013 list, and I just watched the Hunt. Wow.... This was intense. It really resonated with me being a male primary school teacher. The female dominated education and childcare profession was portrayed perfectly here. At its worst, it's a very real and silent discrimination that is not widely discussed. In the Hunt, that aspect was portrayed well. Spoiler alert, I really wonder who that sun dappled hunter was in the last scene. I know it's not the point to specify who it was and that it could have been anyone, but still, I'm tempted to know just who it was. Great review.

This was an A+ movie!

****SPOILER**** Everybody keeps saying that Klara should be spanked... Uhh, no. Klara should not be spanked at all. And please, don't call the little girl a "bitch". I know it's just a movie, but I'm afraid some of you think of Klara the same way you think of some bad kids in real life. Sometimes bad kids were that way was because they simply couldn't predict the consequences. Here are the reasons why Klara is not the villain here: 1.) Klara did lie, yes, but that was pushed by the two moronic adults (old lady "school teacher" and a "therapist") in their disturbing, pushy conversations with her in the school's office. Plus, Klara lied that night only because she was mad at the main character, Lucas, for telling her not to kiss him again. Klara didn't know the consequences of how big of a lie would lead. Know why she didn't know? She's a kid, not an adult with years of life experience! 2.) Dumbass old lady, Grethe (by the way, I would have fired her, and made sure no other schools would hire her at all if I knew she was the one who jumped to conclusions, let's not forget to sue that asshole who thinks he's a professional therapist). I despise Grethe more than any other character in this movie. The fact she ran out the door when Lucas arrived at her office INFURIATED me more, because Lucas, with his right mind, wanted to know what was going on with all the accusations against him, and this old cunt just up and left to run away from him. I absolutely hate her "mightier-than-thou" attitude when she was talking with Lucas outside. She's one immature piece of shit. I know it sounds like I went too far with this much hate against Grethe. I didn't hate her at all when she got conspicuous about what Klara said to her that night. I actually supported her and liked her for that, BUT when she just left the room when Lucas was there for wanting to know what the heck is going on about the "raping" accusation against him, I automatically developed so much hate against her. Who runs out, then runs away from this accused person, Lucas, who wants to know what's going on? A LIAR! The kitchen scene was harsh, brutal, and unfair, too, but he was just an idiot for punching Lucas like that and justice was served by Lucas' headbutt, so I let it pass. What Grethe did, Lucas couldn't justify that, or headbutt it, and gah, that made me mad. 3.) Klara actually revealed the truth to her mom early on that she lied, but her dumbass mother ignored/denied it. Makes me feel like her mom LIKES violence and drama, and doesn't want this incident to stop, so that's probably why she denied Klara's truth...Sad that there are actually mothers like this character in real life. Not saying they're dumbasses for being protective of their kids at all. Just saying that their little "angels" can sometimes be little demons. (insert my troll face here) Anyway, I have seen some (or most?) mothers defend their kids like that in real life before. I mean, like, REALLY stubborn mothers, so beware of those. Reminder... ALL KIDS LIE. How do I know? I was a kid once, too! When we were kids we made up stories all the time. If you say you didn't do that when you were a kid, then I would not believe you for one second. Ha ha heheh So, my point is... don't wish to spank Klara, or call her a bitch. The real bitch is that old lady, Grethe, because she was the one who spread the rumors, and made it worse for the Lucas, and MORE DIFFICULT for Klara to tell the truth. Gah, I hate that old bitch. So disrespectful, and no class from her. I REALLY don't want to meet anyone like her. I know it's just a movie, but this incident has happened in real life before. People can get delusional, and sometimes jump the gun too quickly. Good movie!!

I'm hopelessly addicted to this movie, it makes me reflect on my existance as a man and how giving the people around me the wrong idea and I'm made a demon of the community.

Name one movie or series where Mads Mikkelsen disappoints. Amazing acting as always

If you should ever be interested in watching a good Mads Mikkelsen movie again I would recommend: Flickering Lights (2000) The Green Butchers (2003) Adam's Apples (2005)

"One little girl decides to tell a little lie." That's not even what happened. The girl never lied. The day before, her brother's friend thought it would be hilarious to show her porn, so he showed her his laptop and said "look at this dick, it's hard as a stick". Then the next day Mads refuses her gift which really makes her mad, so later she said to her teacher that his dick is hard as a stick, because she thought it was an insult. Later the teacher brings a child psychologist to ask her questions, but they are all leading questions (e.g. "did he touch you with his willy?", and things like that). And they put so much pressure on her, she simply told them what she thought they wanted to hear. And afterwards everybody in her life basically told her what happened to her, and that she's suppressing it (once she realized the damage that was caused and is trying to convince people that nothing happened). To me this movie is a firm lesson in the absolute shittiness of anecdotal evidence. The teacher's basis for accusing Mikelson's character is that the girl herself claimed that she was molested. It's not like the teacher was _lying_ about the girl claiming sexual molestation, she absolutely believed what she was saying. But it's those subtle little details that just escape people when they're relating a story, details like the fact that the girl didn't actually say she was molested at first, and that her "confession" happened due to leading questions in a coercive environment. That's why when someone claims something and their basis is anecdotal evidence, you shouldn't believe them just from that. They might say, "what, you think I'm lying?" No, there are so many other ways that what they're saying might not be true, than simply that they're lying.

Mad's eyes reveal everything.. that look on his face haunting me! I felt it so deeply 😭

I think that the only reason for those weird last 15 minutes where everything seems to have washed away is to prepare the audience to deliver the last scene. When you see it in that context those seemingly forced 15 minutes make sense.

just watched this, shit, it made me feel something.

I saw this film last year and easily my favourite film of 2012, What I love about this film is that even though you know that he is innocent, you can completely understand why each character reacts in the way that they do making no character totally unlikable. The scene is the supermarket in particular is also very powerful and emotionally draining.

Just watched this. Amazing film. And i disagree with the jumping ahead a year at the end. Normally I hate that as well, but this movie needed it because it showed that even a year later he still has to deal with people not trusting him, and believing that he really did it. I agree with what you said about the realism. Especially the fight scenes. And about the subtitles, i didn't realize that his girlfriend was speaking English until the second time i watched it.

this is your best movie pick by far. It's strange that you said, "I only see foreign films if you know they're good or think they're going to be good" You're picky about foreign movies but not american movies?

I always remember great movies for memorable and powerful scenes. That church scene was absolutely spectacular in every way. So much happened with barely any words.

Definetly sparks some really interesting dialogue about how quick people are to completely believe something even without any concrete evidence. Of course if a child was claiming that sort of thing you would give them the benefit of the doubt, but at some points in the movie its rediculous how much people hate him even though he's been acquitted.

As a dane, I totally approve of your awesome review of this movie!

This movie was one of the BEST I have seen in quite a while. It succeeds on so many levels and it's clever (the English spoken between him and his girlfriend was a nice touch)... and the resolution was sweet, and a little shocking at the same time. Hard to beat!

This was definitely my favourite foreign film ever.

Just saw this film and it truly is fantastic. Mads Mikkelson was excellent in the role and proves why he's one of the best actors working today.

This was the first ever foreign film I've watched. And having to read all those subtitles was so worth it. Beautiful and powerful movie. I'm definitely going to purchase it sometime.

I recently finished watching Hannibal and I would really love to see a series review made by you if you've seen it too. It quickly became one of my favs although I have no idea why that happened.

damn this was as everyone said an upsetting and very frustrating film, you really felt for the Lucus the whole time and hoped that everything would have got cleared up sooner rather than later. Damn i had many angry moments in this especially towards Grethe (cause it really annoyed me how she was so quick to believe it), Theos wife (cause the daughter admitted early on that she was lying but this annoying one ignored it and egged a lot of the things on) and Klara.....man i really didnt think i would be a parent that would spank their kids but after what klara did if i was her dad i would give her the spanking of a lifetime; thats another thing i hated in this movie, i felt like things got wept under the rug when i really wanted to see things get cleared up and Theo publicly announce that his Daughter lied and ruined a guys life or something. I just wanted a lot of other people realize they were wrong including Grethe and her annoying school crew. anyway yea not gonna forget this film

I just wanted to say thank you for reviewing this film for us because if it wasn't for you I would have never discovered this film it's one of my favorites of all time thanks man and keep it up love your channel man

This is an excellent movie review, Chris. I just love when you are sincere and honest like the "JOE" movie review, like all your movie reviews that you did including the great _"Hilariocity Reviews"_ series anyway, lol! That said, you are a really good movie critic, Chris. You are interesting, intelligent, sensitive and you have a great sense of humor. Keep up the good work, Chris!

I'm a HUGE Mads Mikkelsen fan but somehow this flew under my radar. I just finished watching it after seeing it on your "Best Movies of 2012". Such a hard movie to sit through but well worth it. Thanks for the suggestion Chris!

after knowing and watching this movie, mads should have awards. he's so good in acting.

I'm from Denmark so I'm very proud of this film and all the actors in it. They all did a fantastic job. I was so touched by it.

This Movie made me think of how some people can be so in denial

You should see the danish movie "A royal affair" too. This is with Mads Mikkelsen too 😉

Chris with every video you show me more and more you are a true film critic and that you deserve a lot more recognition for not only your knowledge but for your love to cinema... you´re awesome dude!!

I have a question that no one seems to have spotted - At the beginning of the movie, his friend Theo says 'I know when you're lying, you do that twitch thing with your eye' (something along those lines). THEN, in that epic church scene when Lucas looks back with super intense stare, there's a real subtle twitch his left eye does. Did anyone else notice? its almost as if to say to subtly that things happened?

Dark disturbing movie. Mads Mikkelsen steals the freaking show, amazing performance. And great movie!

You should do a review of Another Round. Thomas Vinterberg director and Mads Mikkelsen in it.

I saw "The Hunt" based on your review Chris...My Lord was it a great film, so emotionally intense. I can't remember the last time I was so invested in a film.

Brilliant film, Mads is Fantastic as usual as were pretty much the entire ensemble..

Chris,it would be awesome if you did more foreign film reviews,we are missing out on some great Stuckmannizations :) What about the Pusher trilogy from Nicolas Winding Refn,also starring Mads Mikelsen among other great actors... Thumbs up who wants to see Chris do this :)

**SPOILER ALERT. DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER** The unseen killer in the end...what does that signify? That Lucas has to just live with people always suspicious about him? If so, that sucks!

This move really emotionally moved me. Such raw, stipped down and realistic acting is rare these days, and Mads Mikkelsen did an amazing job portraying his character! Highly recommend this movie to those who yet haven't seen it!

I would love if u did a review of " The lives of others". That film really blew me away. True masterpiece

Hey Chris, you should totally share your IMDB ratings, It would be really cool to see what movies you've watched and thought were good!

I hope you've also got to see After the Wedding with Mads Mikkelsen. Probably one of his best movies ever, another danish drama :)

The only thing I never understood is why he didn't call the police after he was beaten at the grocery store. I would have walked back in and been like "So the police are here and you will get arrested for assault you fucking animals." He has proof that someone killed his dog and vandalized his home as well as psychically assaulted him I would have their ass in jail after that. Although I will admit the grocery store has probably the most badass movie scene I've ever seen in my life.

Just managed to see it, perfect review, any opinions on the ending?

I just watched this on Netflix. Holy shit. If you haven't seen this, and you have Netflix, do yourself a huge favor and do it.

I feel like there was something we missed. The girl mentioned something about "the others". And that weird scene with her and the dad when she's sleeping right before the end and how she confuses him with the main character. I think that girl was actually being sexually abused by somebody in her own family. Either the brother or the father I think.

Thank you for reviewing this film Chris! Yes I'm from Denmark but more people truly need to know about this movie and watch it cause it's really amazing! Thanks for helping getting out to the public!

Very nice video! I loved this movie so so so much as well, and I really think you should continue to watch other movies of Thomas Vinterberg. I highly highly recommend “The Celebration (Festen)” and “Another Round (Druk)”. They are arguably just as good, I can not state this enough!:)

It sucks that movies like this get limited release, but Grown Ups 2 gets released in every theater.

i agree with you! this movie was fantastic, i saw it when it came out in the beginning of the year here in iceland and i still think about it a lot. mads mikkelsen was great and as a fan of danish cinema i was very impressed. i'm hardly ever disappointed with danish movies but i think this one might be my favourite, probably even one of my favourite movies this year :) thank you for reviewing it. always nice to see more foreign films getting the attention they deserve.

You have my childhood in the background, NES and N64! :D

I agree Chris, I also really loved this film. Sometimes difficult to watch, because of how heart broken you are for Lucas. And that last shot was chilling. Stuck with me a few days, & the people surrounding me couldn't get me to shut up about this foreign film I was begging them to watch. Such a good film & such a great, underrated actor. Glad he got at least a Cannes Award for Best Actor.

Always said that I don't have a favourite movie, just a bunch of them that I like. that changed after watching the Hunt my heart was constantly pounding. Definitely a masterpiece

Loved it. And your right, the mark of a good foreign flick with subtitles for me is when you don't even notice your reading subtitles.

Great review, Chris. I was wondering have you watched "A Royal Affair" ? I fell in love with Meds as an actor after that one.

Chris, thanks for this recommendation. This film was very challenging, moved me to tears, this was both parts difficult to watch and hard to turn away from, so much verisimilitude, gahh, it's heart wrenching.

Just got done watching this film (like 10 minutes ago), fucking phenomenal - so damn gripping. Frustrating as hell to watch how everyone treated Lucas. They decided he was guilty INSTANTLY and refused to ever question that assumption. A+ Would watch again.

You're right. Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Michael Haneke and many more are amongst the most inspirational and influential filmmakers to me personally. I view them no differently that a Nolan, Scorsese or Kubrick. Here in the States, we need to put the art back in cinema!

I love that all you guys love this movie so much, makes me proud to live in the country it was made from :D

Hey Chris, are you planning on seeing Fruitvale Station? would love to hear your opinion on it. From what I hear, it's supposed to be really fantastic.

Please make a review on the film : Adam's apples. I love this movie and I would like to hear your opinion....and yes The Hunt is a great movie. For me as a dad it is even more disturbing....this could happen to everybody....

I agree with you about the last 15 minutes, but I really can't think of a much better way for it to have ended. And the very last scene was pretty great so it makes up for it somewhat

I'm actually going to give this movie a try, because I'm one of those people that find movies with subtitles hard to follow, but the good word you put in for it makes it sound like an interesting watch. :)

I freaking love that you are talking so good about a danish movie, that makes my roots cheer. And I'm really feeling that it got robbed an oscar!

I have seen this film just now. Great film. But what's up with the ending in the deer hunting programme?

Couldn't agree more - I've seen it three times, it's THAT good. Highly recommended..... go see!!

As a dane, I can proudly say that it is one of the two greatest films of danish cinema, next to "We shall Overcome". You should really review that one, even though it's an older movie!

Hey Chris are you also watching Hannibal? Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Just watched this, I am blown away.

Chris, I have a feeling your channel is going to take off sometime soon!

I just picked this movie on Netflix and I experienced the movie in the same way you did, physically, mentally and emotionally. Like you once the story captured me I sat almost motionless and felt the tension throughout. As well with really great foreign movies I too forget that I am "reading" subtitles because I am so involved with the story and characters. I am curious what your thoughts about the end of the movie I know your review was 2 years ago but I am still curious. Did you feel that last moment was real or imagined because of all the trauma he'd endured.

Speaking of foreign films... What do you think of the Old boy remake and the new trailer that came out?

If you only watch foreign films that you think are going to be really good I highly recommend "The secret in their eyes". It's an Argentinian film, it won the 2010 academy award for best foreign film. It is a flawless film from every angle. The photography, music, acting, story, camera work, direction, everything is great. It's a thriller/ detective story with an unexpected and breathtaking ending. I really enjoy your reviews and I'd love to hear what you have to say about this movie, so try to check it out. Greetings from Argentina!

At one point in my life I wanted to be a teacher. After hearing so many horror stories about men being falsely accused of horrid things by bitter or troublesome students, the thought that I almost joined this profession terrifies me. Even where I live in Canada, male teachers need to be as careful as humanly possible, especially with female students. When I was in high school, we absolutely had girls who were "hot for teacher", as we had a few very attractive male teachers over the years. I can assure you that they 100% tried to flirt and the teachers had to be as careful with their words as humanly possible, because anything they say could have wound up against them. Simply for being men. These teachers were there because they loved teaching, and in hindsight, they were incredibly uncomfortable with the girls in my class batting their eyes and trying to flirt. I didn't understand the precautions they took, such as leaving the doors open at all times and refusing to be alone with any female student for any reason, but I do now. This movie was heartbreaking. The "child psychologist" or whatever just led the entire interview and made up his own narrative, prying until Klara nodded, even though she just wanted to go play outside. His job that he loved completely cast him out. They keep his son away from him. His best friend that he would give the shirt off his back for turned against him and even tried to assault him. Even once Klara told the truth and tried to tell them that Lucas did nothing, no one believed her, even when they just said "Klara would never lie". These adults NEED this abuse to be true. They will refuse to believe anything different. They then blow the entire situation up and claim he abused all of the kids. His girlfriend won't even stand by his side, even when she hasn't seen a single red flag about him. They harass his son, make him feel like garbage, and his fathers previous friends even physically assault him. No one will talk to Lucas, and they refuse to listen to a single word he says. They try to kill him by hurling a rock threw his window and murdering his dog, but the police have zero intentions of investigating who did it. He is physically assaulted numerous times, and even though it's fully known who did it, none of them are ever charged with assault. His best friend eventually sees that Lucas was telling the truth and tries to right doubting his friend in such a manner, but the damage is already done. At the end of the film, Lucas is still the better person and tries to move on. A year later they're all laughing together, with the townsfolk acting like they didn't do anything wrong. You can argue that no one was staring at him, and that no one tried to shoot at him, but as the viewer, we are shown how he feels. Lucas is completely broken and will never be the same.

Thank you SO MUCH for telling me about this! This sounds extremely intriguing and I have to check this out.

The boat sequence is amazing, its like a surreal nightmare, and its soo tense. The ending is great also, and its sooo well shot. Nicholas winding refn is amazing

Was looking for something to watch and came across this movie review. I’m happy I looked through a bunch of the movies he’s reviewed just to find this one movie because now I’m very glad I didn’t miss out on such a fantastic movie. I recommend it as well.

Hey Chris, you should check out Blinkende Lygter (Flickering Lights) and De Grønne Slagtere (The Green Butchers). Really great Danish dark comedies from the early 2000's. Mads Mikkelsen is one of the main actors in both movies.

Speaking of great foreign films. Please review 'Son of Saul'.

The Celebration is another earlier film by Thomas Vinterberg that is a must see. Similar subject matter but from the other direction. Also the more recent Riders of Justice with Mikkelsen is phenomenal.

Soo.. i've just watched The Hunt Chris (finally)..WOW, what an intense movie! Now I'm getting a little bit personal here: I actually have experience with false accusation because i did it to my father. he had to suffer a lot because of it. That being said you should know that I LOVE my father to death and I have a crazy mother (who i also love) and there were several things leading up to that event. And I am SO GLAD that someone finally took this subject to the screen, because people mostly believe that what children say is true AND IT SHOULD be like that BUT the world should know that children lying about such a strong subject IS A THING, it's not ONLY FICTION we get to see in that movie. And adults contribute A LOT to that lie, which is shown so great in this movie.. maybe you can't even call it a lie.. I don't know, it's a bit of a touchy subject to me and I'm glad that those crazy times are over and my father is okay now. two years ago was the first time i adressed it and he told me that it wasn't my fault and explained it to me from his view, which was a huge relief. I hope he's right, from the bottom of my heart. what else did I wanna say? Mads Mikkelsen did a great job as you said Chris! I don't know mads mikkelsen from other movies besides Valhalla Rising and i barely noticed that it was the same person because i couldn't bring those two characters together in my head, you know. I knew that the same person was in both of those movies but their personality kinda changed their appearance to me. Which is awesome.

I have not yet seen The Hunt, but man do I want to. Mads Mikkelsen is the face of Denmark's film industri, and yet they have so much more also. And that I don't need subtitles at all is always a plus

Chris, did you see this in Cleveland or was it in a different city?

Chris, have you seen "A Separation " ? its a fantastic Iranian film with such a great well made plot and acting. I think It won a quite a few awards.

Hey Chris, love your reviews. I think that since you are into independent cinema you should seek out Joss Whedon's take on Much Ado About Nothing and The Way, Way Back, for they are both very good comedies.