While I cry easily in films, I can attest to the fact that there are few which can somehow persuade me to curl up into the fetal position while in a cinema and let loose loud, wracking sobs that cause people sitting three rows away to look back at me. Yet, this is exactly the very special magic that Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt can provide.

And if, like me, you’re someone who places a high value on books and films with the emotional potency of a stampeding rhinoceros, this is likely to be exactly the kind of magic you’re looking for.

Set in a Danish village, the vastly talented Mads Mikkelsen (currently playing the title character in the recent NBC televised series, Hannibal) stars as Lucas. A mild-mannered kindergarten teacher recovering from a divorce and fighting a custody battle over his teenage son, Lucas’ world is turned upside down when Klara - the young daughter of his best friend - accuses him of inappropriate behaviour. As you watch the hysteria blossom in the small community you can’t help but feel intimately for all the players as they are swept up in the motions. The whole thing is heart-wrenching stuff, harrowing and emotionally-exhausting.

Mikkelsen’s performance is nuanced and raw. Initially optimistic that the whole thing will blow over, his attempts to handle the matter calmly and rationally are met with resistance and suspicion. Given his innocence and good-standing in the community the accusation seems ludicrous to Lucas, and indeed to the audience, yet it’s all too easy to understand how others may be quick to believe Klara’s tale. Her childish and confused understanding of events is unsettling and each time her story is interpreted by the adults around her, it grows into a life all of its own. Even when she later tries to recant her story her mother - who’s been warned that such denial fits with how an abused child might behave - doesn’t believe her. These kind of moments are like small, soft punches, the kind which build in intensity through repetition, eventually pushing you over the edge.

An incredible film but not one I think I could watch a second time.

Bronte Coates