The most disturbing thing with Thomas Vinterberg’s “The Hunt” is that matters get out of hand. “The Hunt” tells a story based off of actual events  about a teacher who is divorced and struggles for his son’s custody along with suffering through a series of rumors that he assaulted a young girl (a complete lie). However, it is not the details of the lying victims that are causing this issue to get out of hand, it is the fact that the main character himself does not seek what is going on. It is easy to see how in real-life events that one thing said can spread through a variety of people and sources. The situation does spread negatively through other families and other sources, but it is brilliant with honesty and suffrage.

The star of this thriller Mads Mikkelsen, that plays Lucas, a divorced father and a school-teacher in a small town of Sweden. The character is very quiet, but Mikkelsen builds force and loneliness slowly where he should have earlier to prevent letting the false situation get more out of hand than it already has been. Viewers believe he did not assault a young girl. In the movie a lot of the characters talk about how Lucas is so involved with being good to children and good at his job. Mikkelsen portrays a lonely, yet quiet school teacher that is not confrontational nor perverted. He is not a bad guy at all.

Klara (Annika Wedderkop) makes a false statement to a staff member of the school about Lucas. That she claims that he was doing naughty things with her and she is like five or six years old. Lucas tries to understand why Klara would say such things. Especially with the fact that her father and him are good friends and that he has known Klara since she was born. But Klara has a wild imagination and is confused so she will not admit that she is just making things up.

Klara probably just wanted a reaction from everyone who is listening to her–but they could could not just be harsh on Lucas. Yet when other children start making up lies, Lucas loses his job. But Lucas is quiet, kind, comforting, losing lots of opportunities, becoming hated by everyone. Mikkelsen is really devoted in the dramatic moments.

“The Hunt” is not really an uplifting film. Lucas is alright, but has been heartbroken more by the lies of Klara than by what was told itself. The film is forward in depicting the rudeness of how cruel people are without even realizing it; Lucas is the innocent protagonist. However, today’s world is lacking in evidence and not realizing all that much that someone could be innocent. Wedderkop does a dark, unexpected job of having a twisted imagination, but it is out of hand–to the point where her own father literally just wants to beat up his best friend Lucas.

The whole film is dark and enthralling. Mads Mikkelsen does such a vague performance just proving how this false assault story is just making his life a train wreck. There are numerous moments where Lucas is just losing all hope. They are all just so depressing and thought-provoking. This is one of the year’s best foreign films. David Vinterberg’s “The Hunt” is a sensation. Three and a half stars.