The Wild Hunt

This is very much a low budget indie film. When I saw it in 2010, I was actually floored by how good of a movie it was for a very limited release indie film. My only complaint about the movie is really style and characters being a little too unbelievable, but only the unbelievability because the movie starts off trying to establish realism vs fantasy but seems to lose realism in later forms of the movie.

This movie is essentially a retelling of a Shakespeare tragedy involving the LARP scene community. The build up could have truly been a lot better but the later half of the movie is very well done in terms of the Shakespearean tragedy. I cannot say much because this movie is a need-to-watch basis to see it although it is difficult to get your hands on.

If you ever do find this movie, I would recommend watching it with a group of friends. It is a dark and emotional movie that is a good watch for the first time.

I checked this out after I read some good reports from festival screenings. I really can't see the appeal of Live Action role-playing, so the film's greatest achievement is that it held my interest at all. I enjoyed the initial comedy of the absurd situations the non-playing lead character finds himself in, once he has barged his way into this make-believe environment. The plot shift and changes in tone from then on, which keeps it unpredictable.

The film is extremely well put together, especially for having been made on such a low budget. The cinematography and the unusual soundtrack are first class. There is some genuinely beautiful and haunting imagery, especially once the hunt gets underway.

For me the biggest problem with The Wild Hunt is that at its heart this is supposed to be a love story, but we never really learn much about the characters or their relationships. It's about a guy on a 'quest' to win back his girlfriend but she remains a cypher from the beginning to the end. I never understood her motivations at all, she just came across as unstable and selfish and therefore I never invested in what's at stake for him.

The other characters are underdeveloped as well and as someone who can't relate to the idea of LARP I would have liked to know more about what draws people to it other than the obvious implication that some do it to escape their real life problems.

I had the chance to see The Wild Hunt at TIFF in 2009. It was no surprise to later hear it had won the Best Canadian First Feature Film prize- it was one of the best and most surprising films I saw at the festival.

The Wild Hunt's premise is a young man naively entering a live-action role play (LARP) weekend in pursuit of his wayward girlfriend. There's some initial comedy in the fish-out-of-water concept, but real-life LARP aficionados needn't fear ridicule; the comedy is in the clash, not at the expense of players. The film in many ways actually celebrates this type of gaming and in more than a few instances defends it from common taunts.

From a simple beginning the story grows to a climax of epic proportions, bringing to mind Shakespearean levels of drama and tragedy. The Wild Hunt is an intelligent and impassioned exploration of fantasy and escapism, desire and obsession. Yet through all of this the film remains grounded in it's characters. One of the great strengths of the film is the realism and complexity at the heart of each role. You won't find any one-dimensional characters here. Instead we have very real people struggling with an escalating series of events, and the games quickly lose their innocence as people lose control.

The Wild Hunt is a truly remarkable film. The exploration of a blurring line between fantasy and reality is chilling, the performances are excellent, and from a technical standpoint it's equally well done. This is a film that will stay with you long after you leave the theatre- not only is it engaging to watch, but it leaves you with much to contemplate.

The story follows Erik, who "crashes" a LARP (Live-Action Role Play) camp in order to confront his estranged girlfriend, Lyn. The event is one that is held supposedly once a year, and the other role players are not pleased to have a modern non-player spoil their fun. Things escalate quickly during Erik's stay; acute conflicts arise between the players, and the game soon stops being a game and becomes a nightmarish brawl.

The main themes and motifs in the film are prevalent, yet not applied so thickly as to be too artsy and obtrusive to the enjoyment of the story. The most upholding traits to the film are the diverse characters and their realistic relationships with one another--Lyn literally says nothing about what she thinks, and even appears to be non-committal to her own feelings in the way she interacts with other characters. Erik is highly aggravated, brutally honest and unforgiving, yet he genuinely cares for Lyn's wellbeing, even though she shows no sort of reciprocation. And Bjorn, Erik's eccentric brother, is so in love with his Icelandic roots that he embraces the game as his reality, and cannot break the boundary between a time for play and a time for seriousness until it's too late.

I found myself trying to guess the next outcome in the string of events, and found that the story was, for the most part, unpredictable in a satisfying way. Just the right amount of popular archetypes were applied to the film to give it a comfortable feel of a typical story while infusing the realistic. Not all characters are heroes or villains, and not all humans see right and wrong in the same way.

I would recommend this film to just about anybody who wouldn't mind squirming in their seat, or watching something on the darker side. You won't necessarily feel like you just saw a double rainbow after watching this, but you may be able to walk away with something on the human condition.

I wasn't sure what to expect when i started this film. I really wnjoyed the fact that it combined several genres without coming off as farce. Incredible dialog, great acting, perfect production.