Dogtooth

"Dogtooth"
Starring: Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni, Hristos Passalis

"Dogtooth" has the slight hint of Michael Haneke film, but its own identity and weirdness. It tells the shockingly bizarre, yet bleakly funny story of three teenagers living under the strict rule of their parents in an isolated country estate. The kids, who don't have names, live in the most guarded, and protected manner, you would think the film was taking place on another planet. For all we know, it is. Each day they're taught vocabulary by a voice recording. The words that they're taught are words that extended past the family construct, for instance, sea means armchair, zombie means flower, etc.

The father is the only one that is allowed to leave the house, he works or perhaps owns some manufacturing plant that pays for his modern day house and accompanying pool. His wife isn't treated with the same tyrannical disservice as the kids, she's just as guilty as her husband, but plays dumb in front of the children.

The film develops and moves with danger and horror on its horizon, most of it very profane and vulgar, but it's certainly called for and not abused. Once a female security guard enters the household to provide sexual favors for the son, all hell breaks loose, and the family's balance is heavily thrown off course.

Many will be turned off by the films nature and tone. This is foreign art-house cinema at its best, and most jaw-dropping, a true stunner, with guts and laughs to spare.

Grade: 4/5