I grew up reading about the actual case from a small community in the middle of Norway.
Lindholm and Vinterberg's story is of course altered for dramatic effect, as well as shortened the amount of time it took to resolve.
I was only in my teens, without any sort of knowledge about the particular community/invidivuals or the basis of proof, but I remember it never sitting quite right with me. As the Danish title refers to, it absolutely felt like a witch hunt, with some, in hindsight, awful handling by the professionals on the case.
As it were, the origin story changed a national belief in children as 100% purveyors of truth.

From this, Lindholm writes, unfortunately not completely free…

A brilliant move on the part of Director Thomas Vinterberg to go in the direction that he did with this film! Rather than keep us in the dark as to whether or not a crime had been committed he laid all of his cards on the table leaving no doubt whatsoever as to the innocence of this man!

By doing so we saw, felt, and anguished over the many injustices that wrongfully took place against this teacher, friend and neighbor from a small town where everyone knows everyone by name!

It in essence allowed us to walk in Lucas's shoes! And it was a truly devastating and emotionally draining experience! His journey became our journey and I can only hope…

"Look into my eyes. Look me in the eyes. What do you see? Do you see anything? Nothing. There's nothing. There's nothing. You leave me alone now."

Danish director, Thomas Vinterberg (The Celebration), delivers a powerful and emotionally draining drama that will leave audiences hooked and feeling enraged for what Mads Mikelssen's character goes through in his closely-knit community. It's a film that will resonate with you and stay on your mind long after it's over. Building on Mikelssen's powerful and engaging performance this is a thrilling psycho-social drama that studies the mob mentality very closely while showing us how a lie that's been accepted takes on a life of its own destroying innocent lives in the process. That is…

A brilliantly painted portrait of how prejudice can turn even the most decent people into a mindless mob, The Hunt is a provocative study of our ever judgmental society which is always ready to believe anything that gives them a chance to persecute someone without even verifying the accusation or caring about how affecting & damaging it could actually be if the accused turns out to be innocent.

Set around Christmas in a small Danish town, The Hunt (also known as Jagten) tells the story of Lucas; a kindergarten schoolteacher in his mid-40s who is admired by his peers, loved by his school children & is friendly with everyone in town. But his life soon turns upside down when an innocent lie…

The Hunt is still as powerful and devastating as it was upon my first watch and this time I noticed other interesting aspects that made the whole experience even more enthralling. I like to think that similarly to the deer, Lucas is now the hunted one, having to constantly live in fear and always look over his shoulder, knowing his life will never be the same as it used to be. This movie investigates several different themes such as innocence, trust and pride in a very emotional manner, enabling you to truly relate to the protagonist's pain and despair. There are quite a few memorable moments here, making you often feel uneasy and intrigued by the story. There is also…

This film is pretty much made to piss people off. Not in a poor quality way, because this film is, in my opinion, a masterpiece of social commentary. But it pisses you off because of how real it feels. In a tight knit community such as the one in this film, word travels fast, and assumed accusations even faster. Some people may look at the members of the community in this movie as evil or hate filled. The way they almost all instantly believe, with little "evidence", that this well known, well liked member of their community has done something extremely sinister. Even Lucas's best friend thinks he has done it, but seeing as how the alleged victim is said…

An extremely well constructed drama about a subject that would shake any man to his core. This film examines a situation that is all too real in today's society: how an innocent man's life can be completely turned upside down by a mere accusation fueled by hysteria.

Vinterberg deals with the subject well- as I said, this drama is incredibly well constructed. His camera, for the most part, is invisible, though there are moments that stand out- mostly close ups at key moments. The script is tight, the actors all give excellent performances. Like Haneke, Vinterberg knows to reach the utter depths of such a painful and horrible situation to reveal every ugly part of human nature. Vinterberg sets up…

The Hunt, a Danish film directed by Thomas Vinterberg, is about a bad thing happening to a good person. Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) is a kindergarten teacher who is passionate about his job and good at it. He loves the children he works with and they, in turn, love him. Early parts of the film show him playing with them kindly and affectionately.

Suddenly, something bad happens. One of the children, a small girl, confusedly accuses Lucas of exposing himself to her, leading to an unforgiving series of events. Lucas is fired from his job and is arrested.

The film makes clear from the beginning that Lucas is innocent. There is never any doubt to this. Perhaps another film with a…