A mother and father shelter their three young adult kids from the outside world and tell them that they can only leave when their dogtooth falls out.
DRAMA
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Dogtooth (2009)Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou Starring Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Angeliki Papoulia, Hristos Passalis, Mary Tsoni, Anna Kalaitzidou Oscar Nominations - Best Foreign Film |
I watched this bizarre 2009 Greek drama based on the recommendation of a close friend who thought very highly of it. I've grown to appreciate Yorgos Lanthimos as a filmmaker with a unique vision. The Favourite and The Lobster stand out as oddballs that border on the nonexistent line. Dogtooth crosses that line to deliver one of the most viciously confusing films I've seen in years. Every character is in their own little world and determined to ruin someone else's. They live in a bubble that is inescapable, and my biggest problem is a simple one. We never know why.
A family. Three kids, two parents. But something is amiss from the very beginning. These kids, in their late teens, live on a small compound policed by their own parents. They are taught incorrect information about the world, even about certain words like "zombie" and "phone." Father is the only one allowed to leave, and he tells his kids that they can leave the house once their "dogtooth" falls out. It's all so unsettling and extremely graphic, especially once these kids start experimenting sexually. As I stated above, the film fails to explain the motive behind all this crazy shit. Something had to have happened to drive a father to lock his children up like prisoners and brainwash them into believing ridiculous things about the world. Dogtooth is definitely not the film I'd use to introduce the work of Yorgos Lanthimos to a friend. This is a deep cut that you better make damn sure they're ready for. I won't say I enjoyed it, but I didn't hate it. It just left me wanting more and never answered any of my many questions. This is a strange world I want no part of again, and the abrupt ending didn't help. |
Yorgos Lanthimos has put together a very bizarre filmography, riddled with genius direction and whacky dialogue. His films tend to get pretty frightening at times and Dogtooth definitely falls in line with that. Dogtooth was his breakout film as it made a bunch of noise at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated at the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film. I have fallen in love with some of Lanthimos films and have access to his three films prior to The Lobster so I started with Kinetta from 2005 and then watched this brilliant follow up.
The story is tight in Dogtooth and extremely effective. A mother and father run their household like cult leaders. They have two daughters and one son. The father is the only one who ever leaves their property but he does occasionally bring a coworker back home with him to relieve his son of his sexual frustration. The parents teach the kids things that are completely false. At one point the mother tells them that a pussy is a big light. The kids pass time by playing bizarre endurance games. It’s completely wild and unnerving all the way through. We don’t even know anyone's name from the family, but they each have so much fucking weirdness to unfold that it doesn’t matter. Angeliki Papoulia plays the oldest daughter and her performance really stirred me up. This is one of the most twisted families I’ve ever seen on screen and everyone offers so much. I wanted the film to keep going, but Yorgos quits while he’s ahead and it’s incredible. |