MovieChat Forums > Jagten (2012) Discussion > Where were the police? [Spoilers]

Where were the police? [Spoilers]

posted 8 years ago by VaultTechy
5 replies | jump to latest

He's falsely accused, he's berated, he's slandered, he's assaulted, he's threatened, he's assaulted some more, his dog is killed, and finally he's shot at, and just at no point does this guy go "hey, I'm going to phone the police about all of this crimes that are being committed against me"?

Not addressing HUGE logic issues like that leaves viewers half-watching and half thinking about why the hell he isn't phoning the cops, and it totally butchers the experience. I still really like the movie but it definitely loses a point for trying to gloss over the whole, zero attempt to legally defend himself thing. The second that Gretha lady called a meeting without knowing anything for sure he could have sued her for defamation so hard they'd have to just give him the village. Clearly he's not a dumb character and I don't buy that he's SO pure-hearted that he doesn't want to hurt anybody despite being accused of sex crimes, so what gives?

[–] Zombie55 8 years ago

Maybe the film somehow tries to say that the law and the society are two separate entities in dealing with a matter like this and that inevitably, and possibly to an extent unfortunately, when someone is labelled as a child molester, the law can't completely help and that society will act on its own, even if it might actually turn out that in rare cases like this, the accused is innocent.

Even though paradoxically, as unfair as it is, plenty of guilty as such get away with it and get light sentences if at all, but the point could well be that yes, as unfortunate as it may sound, innocent people may end up paying the price after all.

Yes, our world really is not only not perfect but mostly totally unfair.

The greatest trick the Devil has ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist!

[–] Bolchevik (377) 6 years ago

@Zombie55 I like your analysis except I dont think we can say that in "rare cases like this, the accused is innocent". As far as I am concerned, an accusation might as well be true as false. I would need a strong demonstration that proves people are usually more guilty than not.

I also thought it was unrealistic as I would have sued the whole town and call the cops. The only way I could make sense out of it was that he would have to live with these people after so he did not want to begin to sue everyone and get all his acquaintances in prison. In other words, he wanted to handle the matter by himself as much as possible, which he did.

[–] saladitos (44) 6 years ago

When someone is accused of something like that, and society seemingly turns on them, there's a feeling of hopelessness/helplessness and a distrust for society as a whole.
Even the police, a entity that once made you feel comfort/safe become the enemy who are trying to harm you/incarcerate you.
It's a very isolating feeling in general.

[–] Strazdas (2472) 4 years ago

Statistically, over 90% of cases of sexual assault are thrown out of court due to lack of evidence. Whether thats actually "false accusation" or just "couldnt prove it" is a matter of a lot of debate.

[–] KBiker (1086) 5 years ago

The police were brought in, by the ignorant Grethe, who first escalated the entire thing by having whoever it was in the beginning question Klara and ask suggestive question, such as, "Did white stuff come out of his penis," causing Klara to nod in her confusion as to what was going on. Then Grethe held a meeting with the parents, telling them that the incident actually must have happened because "children don't normally lie." Everything escalated from there, and he instantly became a pariah in the entire village. Then the police did take Lucas away for questioning and kept him overnight, if memory serves. But there was no real proof either way and they had to let him go. Unlike the entire town, so it seemed, except for his few friends who stuck by him from the beginning of the movie.