The Hunt

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Hunt!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th June 2026

This came recommended to me. So may as well take a look.
So what we have here is a Danish film wherein a school teacher is accused by one of his students for something heinous. The accusation is false but this movie is more concerned as to what happens next.

Clearly this movie is one intent on raising questions: We see the teacher's life collapse, the community turn against him and the words of the accuser flip-flop between truth and dishonesty. The answers aren't always clear, favouring instead to let the audience make up their own mind.

Personally I find this movie was at it's most compelling in showing how a community turns on someone. And it is done with a cold ruthlessness: No indication that this was a bunch of people circling like sharks waiting for blood in the water; no stopping to consider any discrepancies in the child's account; no pausing to stop paternal instincts to ponder on the consequences of one's actions.
Indeed it took me a while to realise there is little to no soundtrack in this movie, favouring instead to let the silence weigh in. 
And it's that coldness that makes this movie so striking. 

Also, if Die Hard is a Christmas movie does that mean this is a Christmas movie as well?

Far From the Madding Crowd

And this week's Friday Night movie has been... Far From the Madding Crowd!

Original image located here. Accessed 3rd March 2023

Once again, we have a case of me watching a movie that I put on my 'to watch' list so long ago that I forgot why I put on said list in the first place. Still, the distance presents an advantage: I am effectively going into this one blind.

So what this movie presents is an adaptation of the novel by Thomas Hardy. Well I once read Tess of the d'Urbervilles and I'm not in any hurry to read it again. Still, this appears to be cut from the same cloth but less relentlessly grim (thankfully).
So what we have here is the story of a woman who juggles running a farm with her independence and the attentions of three potential suitors. Indeed it is the romance that intrigues me: Throughout the movie, I was wondering if there's a fandom attached to this book, rallying behind the banners of Team Oak, Team Boldwood and Team Troy. And I was hoping for a three-way standoff between them (like in The Good The Bad and the Ugly).

Jokes aside however, I liked this movie a lot. Special mention must go to the landscape shots, the music and the presence of the lead Carey Mulligan. And whatever misgivings I may have about Hardy, the story is certainly compelling and the makers of this film told in a stunning way.
Favourite line: "I intend to astonish all of you"