History Film / TheHunt

* ''Film/{{The Hunt|2020}}'', a 2020 American thriller film. (Please read [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki's]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_(2020_film) article]] about this film.)

* ''Film/{{The Hunt|2020}}'', an upcoming (set for 2020) American thriller film. (Please read [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki's]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_(2020_film) article]] about this film.)

* ''The Hunt'', an upcoming (set for 2020) American thriller film. (Please read [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki's]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_(2020_film) article]] about this film.)

* ''The Hunt'', an upcoming American satire film. (Please read [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki's]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_(unreleased_film) article]] about this film.)

* ''The Hunt'', an unreleased American satire film. (Please read [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki's]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_(unreleased_film) article]] about this film.)

* ''The Hunt'', an unreleased American satire film. (Please read [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki's]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_(unreleased_film) article]] about this film.)

* ''Film/{{The Hunt|2019}}'', an unreleased American satire film.

* ''Film/{{The Hunt|2019}}'', a 2019 American satire film.

[[quoteright:285:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_hunt_9359.png]]
[[caption-width-right:285:Yes, this is the good guy. Don't let his cheekbones trick you.]]

->'''Lucas:''' You and I have to bring everything into the open.\\
'''Theo:''' Lucas, I know her. ''Why would she lie?''

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

It is set in a [[{{Main/SmallTowns}} small, conservative]] [[CloseKnitCommunity Danish community]]. It follows Lucas (Creator/MadsMikkelsen), a [[FriendToAllChildren well-liked, friendly kindergarten teacher]] and divorcé whose life has begun to improve. His relationship with his [[TakingTheKids estranged son]] has bettered, and he has found new love with [[OfficeRomance a co-worker]] named Nadja. He has his mates to support him, including [[VitriolicBestBuds best friend]] Theo (Thomas Bolarsen).

However, Theo has a daughter named Klara who attends Lucas' kindergarten, and 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' 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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!!This film provides examples of:

* AdultFear: The film provides an intense situation that is so down to earth that some might find it scarier than most horror films.
* BerserkButton: Don't you ever mentioned the name "Kirsten" in [[EvilDetectingDog Fanny]]'s presence.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Theo realizes that Klara was lying and makes up with Lucas on Christmas. A year later, Lucas is reunited with Marcus and back with Nadja, and he and his son go on the hunt, where he has appeared to have made up with more of his friends. But tensions are still evident, and someone shoots at his head, misses, and then flees.]]
* {{Bookends}}: The film begins and ends with the community's annual hunt.
* BreakTheCutie:
** This entire movie is devoted to the breakage of Lucas. He begins as a likable, enthusiastic kindergarten teacher, but slowly degrades as gossip fans the flames. He is beaten, rejected and held in contempt.
** This extends to Marcus, his son.
* 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.
* CannotTellALie: {{Subverted}}. Grethe thinks a kid of that age is [[ChildrenAreInnocent innocent]] and unable to tell a lie. Apparently she is mistaken.
* CharacterTic: Klara snuffles a lot.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Stated word-for-word. The children don't understand the ramifications of what they're saying and hold no ill will toward anyone. The trope also comes into effect by provoking extreme hostility from the community on the mere suspicion that someone has threatened the innocence of their children.
* ConvictedByPublicOpinion: Despite the hearing bringing up multiple discrepancies in the stories their children are telling them, the entire town still believes that Lucas is a pedophile.
* CorruptionOfAMinor: [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom 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.
* TheDeterminator: Lucas insists on being allowed to buy his groceries, in spite of violent resistance.
* DistantEpilogue: The last scenes are showing the characters a year after the incident.
* DoubleMeaningTitle: ''The Hunt'' can stand for either the annual hunt taken by all men of the community, which bookends the film, as well as the PaedoHunt of Lucas.
* FalseRapeAccusation: Klara's angry comments are misconstrued, and suddenly Lucas has to flee for his life from a murderous mob convinced he's a child molester.
* FriendToAllChildren: Lucas is presented as such in the first act.
* TheGlassesGottaGo: Nadja takes off Lucas' glasses before they start kissing.
* HuntingAccident: [[spoiler:The final scene in which somebody shoots at Lucas during the hunt. The shot misses, intentionally or not.]]
* IgnoredConfession: About halfway through the film, Klara tells her mother the truth, that Lucas hadn't done anything to her and that she'd just said something foolish. Her mother doesn't listen to her, and instead writes it off as Klara trying to ignore what happened.
* ImplausibleDeniability: When Lucas confronts Klara about the love letter and she denies it despite the evidence.
-->'''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: [[InvertedTrope A reverse example.]] [[spoiler: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.]]
* InfallibleBabble: Klara's father finally decides to believe Lucas after hearing his half-awake daughter confess (again) to lying.
* ItAlwaysRainsAtFunerals: [[spoiler:Lucas buries Fanny in pouring rain.]]
* 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' trouble.
** It's possible that Grethe, the school principal (and the school itself), would be on the wrong end of a ''massive'' lawsuit for her shameful handling of the situation. But if that happened, we don't see it.
** [[spoiler:The person shooting at Lucas 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.]]
* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: The way the children stop singing at the church when Lucas suddenly goes for Theo.
* MaleFrontalNudity: The chubby fellow in the opening skinny dipping scene.
* 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.
* MamaBear: Klara's mother becomes ferocious when she thinks Lucas has molested her daughter, threatening to castrate him.
* 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 evidence which 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 a trial, but the damage is already done.
* MistakenForPedophile: PlayedForDrama with Lucas. The film spend a lot of time showing how damaging it can be to a person to be suspected of sexually assaulting a child, especially in a small, tight-knit community, and how long such an accusation can haunt someone.
* OhCrap: Lucas learning that the rest of the children are lying about him, too.
* OnlyBadGuysCallTheirLawyers: Lucas made life harder for himself by not immediately seeking help from a lawyer. This can be attributed to the [[EnforcedTrope creators being aware of this trope]] and trying not to compromise the audience' perception of his innocence.
* PapaWolf: Theo threatens to put a bullet in Lucas' brain if the rumors are proven true.
* PaedoHunt: The bulk of the film is the community turning on a member they mistakenly believe to be a child molester.
* ParentsInDistress: Marcus, who loves his father, tries to force Klara to admit she's lying in order to get him released after he's arrested. Unfortunately, he's treated about the same as Lucas, simply for being his son.
* PottyDance: One of the kids from the nursery does this in an early scene.
* PrecociousCrush: Klara for Lucas, with a pretty horrendous outcome.
* RevengeByProxy: [[spoiler:Fanny gets killed in revenge for Lucas' supposed crime.]]
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Among others, the makers of this film had admitted to being inspired by the Bjugn affair from Norway in 1992.
* RunningGag: Fanny's BerserkButton.
* SnowballLie: Klara starts the lie in the heat of being angry with Lucas. The other children pick it up and make it worse (as children are prone to do), which makes matters even worse for Lucas.
* SpitefulSpit: Marcus spits in Klara's face as a sign of his utter contempt for her lying.
* StressVomit: Grethe throws up [[VomitDiscretionShot discretely]] during Klara's interview and then continues as 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 (a Russian played by a Swedish actress) prefers to speak in English and is also fluent.
* ThinkOfTheChildren: The village becomes paranoid and hysterical because of the threat Lucas poses to their kids.
* TheUnsolvedMystery: [[spoiler:Who killed the dog, and who shot at Lucas?]]
* UntrustingCommunity: Lucas is not welcome in the small town anymore after everyone believes him to be a child molester.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Klara's brother Torsten, whose brief display of pornographic material to his little sister helps lead to her angry lie about Lucas indecently exposing himself to her.
* UseYourHead: [[spoiler:Lucas' revenge headbutt against the butcher.]]
* VillainousCheekbones: Creator/MadsMikkelsen's natural cheekbones help gives his character a villainous look in spite of the fact that he is innocent of the charges.
* TheVoice: Lucas' ex, Kirsten. She is heard repeatedly on the phone, but never makes it on screen.
* WindowPain: [[spoiler:Lucas gets a brick thrown into his kitchen window.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: Theo and the big blond guy get rough on Marcus, after the latter [[SpitefulSpit spits]] on Klara.
* YouCanAlwaysTellALiar: Theo mentions early on 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. [[spoiler: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.]]
* YouMonster: Klara's mother says, ''"You're a sick man."'' Many of the villagers say a variation of this.
----

* TheGhost: Lucas' ex, Kirsten. She is heard repeatedly on the phone, but never makes an on-screen appearance.

* TheGhost: Lucas' ex Kirsten. She is heard repeatedly on the phone but never makes an on-screen appearance.

* HuntingAccident: The final scene in which somebody shoots at Lucas during the hunt. The shot misses, intentionally or not.
* IgnoredConfession: About halfway through the film, Klara tells her mother the truth, that Lukas hadn't done anything to her and that she'd just said something foolish. Her mother doesn't listen to her, and instead writes it off as Klara trying to ignore what happened.

* INeverSaidItWasPoison: [[InvertedTrope 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.

* ItAlwaysRainsAtFunerals: Lucas buries [[spoiler: Fanny]] in pouring rain.

** The person shooting at Lucas 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.

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

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

* UseYourHead: Lucas' revenge headbutt against the butcher.

* WindowPain: Lucas gets a brick thrown into his kitchen window, supposedly by Theo.

* YouCanAlwaysTellALiar: Theo mentions early on 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.
* YouMonster: Klara's mother says ''"You're a sick man."''. Many of the villagers say a variation of this.

** 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.

* SnowballLie: Klara starts the lie in the heat of being angry with Lucas. The other children pick it up and make it worse (as children are wont to do), which makes matters even worse for Lucas.

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: About halfway through the film, Klara tells her mother the truth, that Lukas hadn't done anything to her and that she'd just said something foolish. Her mother doesn't listen to her, and instead writes it off as Klara trying to ignore what happened.