History Film / TheHunt

* INeverSaidItWasPoison: A reverse example. The children all say they were abused in Lucas' basement, all describing its grey walls and orange sofa. However, Lucas' house doesn't have a basement. This results in the case against him being dismissed.

** The person shooting at Lucas [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory (assuming they're real and not Lucas's paranoid imagination)]] also qualifies. The setting sun's at their back, making it impossible for Lucas to identify him, and they run off seconds later over a distant hill. Even if the bullet could be traced to the gun, it is likely the culprit would simply claim he didn't see Lucas or that the gun went off accidentally (excuses that would be borderline-impossible to disprove), making it unlikely the attempted murder could be punished.

--> '''Lucas''': I found a small present in my coat pocket.
--> '''Klara''': It's not from me.
--> '''Lucas''': But it says "Klara".
--> '''Klara''': Then someone must be teasing you.
* INeverSaidItWasPoison: A reverse example. The children all say they were abused in Lucas' basement, all describing its grey walls and orange sofa. However, Lucas doesn't have a basement. This results in the case against him being dismissed.

* MistakenForPedophile: PlayedForDrama with Lucas.

''The Hunt'' (Jagten) is a 2012 [[{{UsefulNotes/Denmark}} Danish]] drama directed by Thomas Vinterberg. It's a study of human nature and mass hysteria. Sometimes, [[{{Main/CaptainObvious}} humans suck]].

* ChildrenAreInnocent: Stated word-for-word. All the movie's problems are based on a single lie from cute-faced Klara. Her words turn out deadly (for [[spoiler:Fanny]] anyway) and if Klara was an adult, we would see her action as a wicked attempt to manipulate others for her own satisfaction. But at her age, Klara was simply confused and misinterpreted Lucas' rejection. It's adults like Grethe and Klara's mother who treated the case poorly.
** The only person not actually buying into this trope is [[{{Irony}} 16-year-old]] Marcus, who is in such a rage about Klara's lie that he [[SpitefulSpit spits in her face]].

* KarmaHoudini: Klara's brother Torsten could be considered one. He is the one who showed Klara the pornographic photo that contributes to part of Klara's lie, yet he receives no admonishment from his parents or anything resembling punishment for his (albeit [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom unintentional]]) contribution to Lucas's trouble.

* OnlyBadGuysCallTheirLawyers: Lucas made life harder for himself by not immediately seeking help from a lawyer. This can be attributed to the [[EnforcedTrope creator being aware of this trope]], trying not to compromise the audience' perception of his innocence.

* OnlyBadGuysCallTheirLawyers: Lucas made life harder for himself by not immediately seeking help from a lawyer. This can be attributed to the creator being aware of this trope, trying not to compromise the audience' perception of his innocence.

* ItAlwaysRainsAtFunerals: Lucas buries Fanny in pouring rain.

* RiddleForTheAges: Who killed the dog, and who shot at Lucas?

However, Theo has a daughter who attends Lucas' kindergarten named Klara, who rapidly develops an [[{{Main/PrecociousCrush}} unhealthy obsession]] with Lucas. After she kisses him on the lips during school playtime, Lucas is quick to rebuff her infatuation. [[{{Main/NotGoodWithRejection}} In a childish rage]], she unwittingly implies to the head teacher, Grethe, that Lucas has sexually abused her.

* YouMonster: Karla's mother says ''"You're a sick man."''. Many of the villagers say a variation of this.

* INeverSaidItWasPoison: A reverse example. The children all say they were abused in Lucas' basement, all describing its grey walls and orange sofa. However, Lucas doesn't have a basement.

* MiscarriageOfJustice: Before going to authorities, the schoolteacher seeks the opinion of someone without proper understanding of how to interrogate a child. Consequently, he leads her answers and produces false proof that is nonetheless taken for the truth. Had Klara been questioned by a qualified expert first, this all might have been avoided. Luckily, holes in the accusations ultimately spare Lucas from the charges, but the damage is already done.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Amongst others, the makers of this film had admitted to being inspired by the Bjugn case in Norway from 1992.

* StressVomit: Grethe throws up [[VomitDiscretionShot discretely]] during Klara's interview and then continues if nothing had happened.
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Nadja speaks better English than Danish, so people will occasionally switch to perfectly fluent English to help her understand. Nadja herself (played by a Swedish actress) prefers to speak in English and is also fluent.

* UntrustingCommunity: Lucas is not welcomed in the small town anymore after everyone believed him to be a child molester.

* CannotTellALie: Subverted. Grethe think that a kid in that age is [[ChildrenAreInnocent innocent]] and unable to tell a lie. Apparently she is mistaken.

* FalseRapeAccusation: Klara's angry comments are misconstrued, and suddenly Lucas has to flee for his life from a murderous mob convinced he's a pedophile.

* CorruptionOfAMinor: Unwittingly, Klara's brother helped to set the stage for the FalseRapeAccusation by showing his sister a photo of a "giant stiff rod" which disturbed her enough to use it against Lucas after he rejected her PrecociousCrush.

* TimeSkip: The last portion of the movie skips a year ahead.

* RevengeByProxy: [[spoiler:Fanny]] gets killed a revenge for Lucas' supposed crime.

* MaleFrontalNudity: The chubby fellow in the opening skinny dipping scene.

** The only person not actually buying into this trope is [[{{Irony}} 16-year-old]] Marcus, who is in such a rage about Klara's lie that he [[SpitefulSpit spits her in the face]].

* ImplausibleDeniability: When Lucas confronts Klara about the love letter and she denies despite the evidence.

* MaliciousSlander: Lucas is [[FalseRapeAccusation wrongly accused]] of being a child molester which quickly ruins his reputation in the CloseKnitCommunity and sets off a nasty PaedoHunt.

* RevengeByProxy: [[spoiler:Fanny]] gets killed in some as a revenge for Lucas' supposed molesting.

* SpitefulSpit: Marcus spits Klara in the face as a sign of his utter contempt for her lying.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: the townsfolk have a right to close their ranks against a predator in their neighborhood, but Lucas is, of course, innocent of the charges and should have a right to defend himself against them before being judged guilty by the community.

* WouldHurtAChild: Theo and the big guy get rough on Marcus, after the latter [[SpitefulSpit spits]] on Klara.
* YouCanAlwaysTellALiar: Theo himself said earlier in the movie that he knows when Lucas is lying, he sees it in his eyes. When he's lying he blinks. If he's not blinking, he's telling the truth. Lucas did not blink in the church while saying he's innocent. That's the moment Theo realizes his friend did not do what they accused him of. Cue a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment by Theo.

* RevengeByProxy: [[spoiler:Fanny]] gets killed as a revenge for Lucas' supposed molesting.

'''Theo:''' Lucas, I know her. ''Why would she lie?''\\

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!!This movie provides examples of:

However, Theo has a daughter who attends Lucas's kindergarten named Klara, who rapidly develops an [[{{Main/PrecociousCrush}} unhealthy obsession]] with Lucas. After she kisses him on the lips during school playtime, Lucas is quick to rebuff her infatuation. [[{{Main/NotGoodWithRejection}} In a childish rage]], she unwittingly implies to the head teacher, Grethe, that Lucas has sexually abused her.

The lie begins to [[{{Main/SnowballLie}} mutate and grow]], with Klara's account quickly spread by [[{{Main/GossipEvolution}} gossip]]. Through paranoia and the fact that kids often repeat what they hear, some of the other children report signs of abuse. Soon enough, the village [[{{TorchesAndPitchforks}} turns on him]], including the vast majority of his friends and co-workers. Because it's Lucas's word against Klara, and the adults believe that there's no way [[{{Main/ChildrenAreInnocent}} Klara would lie]], he is quickly ostracised from the community. The only allies Lucas has are his son, Marcus (Lasse Fogelstrom), and a few friends.
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* BookEnds: The film begins and ends with the community's annual hunt.

* ChildrenAreInnocent: Stated word-for-word. All the movie's problems are based on a single lie from Klara, who admittedly didn't know any better. Then the rest of the children start lying about Lucas abusing them...

* INeverSaidItWasPoison: A reverse example. The children all say they were abused in Lucas's basement, all describing its grey walls and orange sofa. However, Lucas doesn't have a basement.

* PapaWolf: Theo threatens to put a bullet in Lucas's brain if the rumors are proven true.

* YouMonster: Karla's mother says ''"You're a sick man."''. Many of the villagers say a variation of this.

* InfallibleBabble

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Nadja speaks better English than Danish, so people will occasionally speak switch to perfectly fluent English to help her understand. Nadja herself (played by a Swedish actress) prefers to speak in English and is also fluent.

* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: ''Klara''. You can't really hate her because she's a small child and doesn't know what she's saying, but seriously.