Overview
A tense day in the wilderness spirals into madness as past grievances surface.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- oppressive
- foreboding
- paranoid
- serious film night
- arthouse cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Carlos Saura's tightly contained drama as a powerful, formally controlled allegory of Spanish political violence and psychological repression.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The hot hunting day intensifies the men's anger as conversation turns toward past events.
The valley witnessed a Civil War battle, and dialogue recalls a similar conflict while the men reenact its hostility.
Three hunters move from tense conversation and anger into collective psychological disintegration.
A rabbit hunt provides the narrow circumstance in which talk about the past escalates toward madness.
Films like The Hunt, and why
The Exterminating Angel
psychological tension, male hostility, and political allegory unfolding in a confined rural landscape
Theorem
sun-baked rural setting, simmering social conflict, and violence emerging from bourgeois group dynamics
The Spirit of the Beehive
Spanish political subtext, oppressive atmosphere, and interpersonal cruelty beneath restrained drama
The Celebration
contained ensemble drama where buried trauma and ideological tension produce escalating psychological violence
Movie Details
- Director
- Carlos Saura
- Release Date
- 1966-11-07
- Runtime
- 87 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (73)
Cast
- Ismael Merlo
- Alfredo Mayo
- José María Prada
- Emilio Gutiérrez Caba
- Fernando Sánchez Polack
- Violeta García
- María Sánchez Aroca
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Hunt about?
- During an oppressive rabbit hunt, three Spanish men turn buried memories and political resentment into a terrifying collapse of reason.
- What is The Hunt like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Hunt as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Hunt violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Hunt as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Hunt?
- Critics broadly regard Carlos Saura's tightly contained drama as a powerful, formally controlled allegory of Spanish political violence and psychological repression.
- Which films are like The Hunt?
- Films with a similar feel include The Exterminating Angel, Theorem, The Spirit of the Beehive, and The Celebration.
- How long is The Hunt?
- The Hunt runs 87 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Hunt?
- In United States, The Hunt streams on Criterion Channel.
