This is extremely belated, but I assure you, it will still
be a good blog. The Hunt leaves an impression.
The Hunt is a Swedish film starring Mads Mikkelson, known in
the U.S. for his chilling Hannibal the Cannibal on NBC’s Hannibal (also his
chilling good looks according to my friend, Courtney). Mikkelson plays Luke, a
kindergarten teacher, the only male teacher at his small school. Through no
fault of his own, he is accused by Klara, the young daughter of Luke’s best
friend, of sexually abusing her. This is, of course, a lie. Klara was angry at
Luke, and wanted to get him in trouble. She had no understanding of the
implications.
Eventually, the small Swedish town turns entirely against
Luke. I will leave the gory details out, and avoid spoiling the movie for you.
The entire movie, I was eerily reminded of Arthur Miller’s
The Crucible. A whole town, turning on one man based on the testimony of a
single girl? A fever of paranoia sweeping a city? Sounds familiar. However, I
wasn’t immediately drawn to any of Shakespeare’s work.
I saw similarities between Timon and The Hunt, in terms of
betrayal, and the downfall of a man. Both Timon and Luke’s best friends betray
them. They are both alone in a world against them. Driven by madness and grief,
they both turn into misanthropes. The endings to both of their stories leave a
sour taste in one’s mouth.
The theme of the sexual abuse of children, however, is
absent from any of Shakespeare’s works. Was this because it was difficult to
have children onstage at the time, because the topic was taboo, or was child
abuse not acknowledged during the Bard’s lifetime? I’m unsure as to why.
The Hunt is an excellent, albeit painful, film, and I
believe it may be nominated for an Academy Award soon. I highly recommend it. I
would encourage you to bring tissues and a stress ball, for those high-tension
moments.
posted on behalf of Emily Sullivan
posted on behalf of Emily Sullivan
Emily, this post is a bit unfocused--it's a ramble though your impressions and memories--but you hit upon two interesting points. 1: Social hysteria. Is that a Shakespearean thing? Coriolanus touches on this topic--that's a play about the vacillating crowd. Julius Caesar features some of the same issues. But you are right to say that this problem is best diagnosed at a distance, in (for instance) Miller's play about witch-hunts. 2. Child abuse. Is that a Shakespearean thing? Well, to some degree the question is anachronistic, since the child as a person entitled to special protections is really a modern invention. There are cases of pederasty that are prosecuted, but generally only if there is a social/class infraction, too (poorer man preying on wealthier boy). In fact, it's striking how few characters in Shakespeare seem to have had difficult childhoods--though we see some children under threat (in Pericles, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest) and others perish (in Macbeth, in Henry VI part II). Either subject could be a very productive one for future research.
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