Jagten

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The Dane Thomas Vinterberg has been a fixed star of international auteur cinema since his brilliant debut Festen in 1998 and has played some part in the phenomenal success of arthouse films and series from his country, which speaks a language as exotic as Swiss German and counts less than six million inhabitants. But with Jagten the film critics found it rather difficult: they argued it pushed open doors and, they had a hard time understanding a protagonist not defending himself more decisively against that story of evident lies - especially since Vinterberg didn't cast a softie or disguised paedophile for the hero's part, but Mads Mikkelsen, a guy who is not knocked down so quickly. But this is precisely the point of this strong film, which almost inevitably goes against the grain. However absurd the accusation may be, it does its work and gradually poisons all of the protagonist's relationships. Jagten is a film about the uncanny power of defamation under the tightened conditions of political correctness. It shows how a lie remains stuck because the denial can always be interpreted as a sign of a bad conscience. It deals with the diabolical logic of the false accusation, which comes in handy to envyers and copycats. Unpleasant, yes, and quite apt.

Vinterberg wurde 1998 berühmt mit der Missbrauchsgeschichte «Festen». «Jagten» ist die Antithese dazu. Das Drehbuch krankt an seiner Hauruck-Dramaturgie: Der Mann wehrt sich nicht, und keine Sekunde zweifeln die selbstgerechten Dorfbewohner am Wahrheitsgehalt der Anschuldigung. Die Rolle dieses Wehrlosen von einem Alphatier wie Mikkelsen spielen zu lassen, ist hingegen ein grossartiger Einfall. Er macht den Film sehenswert. In Cannes erhielt Mikkelsen den Preis für den besten Darsteller.

Récompensé par le Prix d'interprétation au dernier Festival de Cannes, Mads Mikkelsen, qui incarne Lucas, est saisissant de sincérité. Détail qui a son importance : l'atmosphère, grave, est régulièrement allégée par quelques touches d'humour noir.

Avec La Chasse, le danois Thomas Vinterberg signe un drame psychologique en forme de thriller haletant, servi par la charisme du géant Mads Mikkelsen.