The Wild Hunt (Alexandre Franchi, 2009): Canada

Reviewed by Paula Gomez. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, 2010.

People should definitely see The Wild Hunt, because it is an effective comedic drama turned thriller that incites a rollercoaster of emotions from its audience. I enjoyed it thoroughly and rated its ballot as a five out of five stars at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. In very brief words, this movie tells the story of a young man in search of his girlfriend, meaning in life and self exploration. It is overall, a great story well executed from all contributing angles.

The plot consists of Erik (Ricky Mabe), a young man, who looses his girlfriend Lyn (Tiio Horn), to a game of Vikings because it happens to be more interesting than Erik to her. As a result, troubled Erik goes on a quest to win her back but in order to do so he must enter the world of the Viking game and play a role he is not comfortable playing: himself (in character). The plot advances into an obscure but thrilling ride similar to that seen in The Lord of the Flies. In both movies, the world of reality and the world of fantasy interconnect in hilarious and maddening ways. There are plenty of funny moments throughout the story, but the dramatic themes of: love, lust, mental imbalance, and family honor prevail.

The cinematography was great, for some of the shots were very beautiful to see, especially the close ups. Some of them were framed by objects (blurred) in the foreground, as if to note that the characters were hiding themselves from something, perhaps from their true selves. The lighting was effectively used to portray two worlds: a colorful fantasy world and a bleak real world. This effect makes the audience ponder whether the fantasy world, with it’s vivid colors, is actually where the real life lies. The two settings for the worlds, the city and the forest, were very distinct. A sort of yellow lighting with a grainy look was applied to the city environment. And the magical forest was shot mostly day-for-night. Even at night time though, the blue night colors of the forest was overpowering. The acting was excellent. Some of the characters were very believable and delivered their lines in character within role-playing character exceptionally well. The editing was reasonable. It made sense and complimented the plot of the story in a traditional way, almost as if to not bring attention to itself. It was fluid.

The fantasy play within this movie is reminiscent of the movie Peter Pan. In both movies there are various enchanting characters within each fantasy world. While Peter Pan has its pirates, Indians, and lost boys, The Wild Hunt has its Vikings, nights, and elves. Both movies have a fairy and both movies make a contrast between the real world and the fantasy world.

I recommend this film because it was beautifully shot, well written, well edited, and fun to watch. It has unity and it questions the idea of living in a reality world versus a fantasy world through a shocking, gruesome, and funny story.