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| The Hunter (2011) - Directed by Daniel Nettheim |
A lone hunter (Willem Defoe) heads to the wilderness in the great outback to find the rarest animal on the face of the earth. This atmospheric drama emphasizes the wonder and paranoia of a man hired by a biotech company known as Red Leaf to find the Tasmanian tiger to recover tissues and organs for some kind of product.
The film starts with a briefing on the hunter's mission, he is told that there may be others and that there is only one left in the world. He takes off to Australia and stays in a home with an absent father, a drugged mother, and two kids. One of them a girl, who is playful, and has a knack for adult language. The other is a oddly quiet boy. The hunter sets off into the wilderness, but as soon as he does he discovers that he is not welcome. Not by the loggers, nor the hippies. He denies up and down that he is looking for the Tazmanian Tiger and claims he is a scientist doing research on the Tazmanian Devil.
The film moves at a very slow pace, much like hunting, there are several tense moments with no results. The cinematography is breathtaking, and really captures the beauty of Tasmania. The film really succeeds when Willem Defoe is on the trail for this tiger. I found his interaction with the children touching as well. However, I thought the young boy's non verbal performance to be awkward and unnecessary, whereas the girl's performance was enjoyable. That being said, I think this boy is the biggest flaw of the film, who ultimately is the hunter's raison d'etre. Child actors are tough, I understand, but I just didn't buy his performance, and it ultimately hurt my opinion of the entire film.
Top 5 Movie Hunters:
5. Takako Chigusa: Battle Royale
One might say this is cheating a bit, since this is a Lord of the Flies/Most Dangerous Game/Survivor/Japanese Game Show, but this middle school girl is one of the craziest, bad ass, murderous chicks ever to be put on screen, so much so that Quentin Tarantino himself had to include her as one of the "Crazy 88".
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" The only good human is a DEAD human!" These Gorillas are rutheless beasts who hunt man for sport. Poetic justice at it's finest.
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| "Smile" |
2. Michael (Robert DeNiro) : The Deer Hunter
This Green Beret and Deer Hunter (hence the title) is torn by guilt of the abandonment of his friend in Vietnam.
1. Man: Bambi
This hunter never is given a name, face, body, or voice but his presence is known when a shocking gunshot collection of gunshots are heard, and kills his mother.
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