Simply Perfect

Great Film overall

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Pretty typical of the Greek families I know. Not weird enough if you ask me. They did not try hard enough.

O...that was...sure something... So, Yorgos Lanthimos has officially become one of my favorite filmmakers working today and perhaps of all time. He relishes in the kind of absurdity, unpretentious artiness, dry black humor, and disturbing horror/tragedy I love so very dearly, and these elements can all be clearly found in 'Dogtooth', his third and first truly notable film. Here, many important motifs of what has developed into the Lanthimos style can be found and are really mastered. While I personally find 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' to be the better film, I can definitely see some arguments for 'Dogtooth' being the man's masterpiece thus far. It is an original and gross and totally compelling work that kind of feels like what would have happened if the first half hour of 'Bad Boy Bubby' was stretched out to fill up the length of the entire film and just replaced the rest of it all together (if you've seen 'Bubby' you might know what I mean; if not, it's less likely but you still might know what I mean (I hope (I guess))), and, since 'Bad Boy Bubby' is far and away one of my favorite films, any possible comparison to it that is not directly meant to showcase how the non-'Bubby' film is absolute trash in one way or another is a very high compliment. However, I feel like a film like this one should come with some kind of warning. Even for the guy who made stuff like 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer', some of the scenes in here are genuinely shocking. The sexual explicitness far exceeds that of your standard film (American film in particular), and many of the sex scenes do not feel simulated. Now, if you're like me, this is, if anything, a mild-to-moderate plus on the film's part, but if you're a Catholic nun or something I do not recommend it. Anyone else with an open mind and enough patience to sit through an arthouse drama with a slower pace should see this whenever they see fit. It's definitely a unique and, for weirdos like me, somewhat enjoyable (please don't take my usage of that word in the wrong way; I mean, I seriously think the movie is at least a little entertaining, there's plenty of weird, off putting laughs to be had and it is unnerving enough on a minute by minute basis that I was almost always glued to the screen) experience that I'd like to mention also has a very subversive-sort-of visual style, as many of the camera angles are intentionally awkward and just slightly off in some way in order to add to the overall mood of the piece, which is another little motif of Lanthimos (although it is nowhere more apparent than it is here, as many of the shots in a film like 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' (exemplified for the third time in this single review, nice going me) are beautiful to look at and do not feel awkward or off at all and instead are incredibly perfect and necessary, but still do have some uncomfortable atmosphere about them, of course) that I find absolutely fascinating.

"Dogtooth" —(Greek: Κυνόδοντας) is a "Un Certain Regard" (which recognises works that are either "innovative or different") prize winner at Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award nominated 2009 Greek film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. (only the fifth Greek film so honoured).The movie is made more from concepts than from imagery. Example? Most likely, the scene that makes the biggest impression is the one that best encapsulates the family's strange rituals. To celebrate their parent's wedding anniversary, the two girls perform an awkward, shuffling dance, as invented by two children who have no knowledge of choreography, while their brother accompanies them on guitar. After the younger girl bows out, the rebellious older one begins throwing her body around with bizarre, manic abandon, until her parents object to this display of individuality.The Movie: "Dogtooth" — follows a family so gripped by its patriarchal system that the entire reality and perception of the unit is distorted to horrific proportions. The father (Christos Stergioglou) is lying to himself that, by bringing up his son and two daughter's to be scared of leaving the house, is for their benefit rather than his. This idea is shown to be at its most extreme as all three of the "children" are in their early twenties and have clearly been brought up without a normal education; they believe that outside the house lies danger, that planes going over land in the garden and are in fact toys. They even believe that cats are deadly and end up killing one in fear with a set of hedge shears. The illusion, however, is being stretched by the natural instinct of their age, with the gradual questioning of the twisted father leading to some form of rebellion. The brother (Hristos Passalis), whose sexual demands are met by a paid nurse (Anna Kalaitzidou) who visits on occasions, is not being brought up to replace his father's patriarchal position (in spite of sleeping with his sister when the nurse is found out to be supplying them with sweets and a video), which suggests that this is more than simply the product of a male dominated family unit but the concluding product of a paranoid, power hungry father whose love has twisted into the most perverted kind of over-protection.

One of the most cerebral, and entirely unpleasant films ever made, but there were certain moments of the film that left me in awe. The acting is frighteningly good. It's a believable portrayal of a brainwashed family. I squirmed every time a character was beaten by the father or beaten themselves. It portrays a horrifying existence absolutely breathtakingly. You either love this movie, or you hate it. I'm pleased to find myself on the love side.