Dogtooth (Kynodontas)
Greece 2009
Directed by Giorgos Lanthimos
There are films where you should walk out after ten minutes. This was one of them. I finally decided to depart after 90 minutes but by then it was so obviously coming to the end, that I gritted my teeth and lasted it out.
It really is a foul, disgusting, violent film, and those Guardian and Independent reviews on the poster should have told me as much, “Mesmerizing” and “Thrilling” means something from most papers, but from these it too often means “They like it. It must be vile.” It was.
One shouldn’t be surprised that a film from Greece is about violence, bullying, lies, manipulation and incest; these after all are the themes of classic Greek tragedy.
It’s about a man who locks his three grown-up kids in a home compound and tells them lies about the world with the compliance of his wife. For instance, they’re warned that cats will devour them if they step outside. Planes are seen but he arranges for them to “fall from the sky” using model aircraft. Their whole world is a mountain of deceipt constructed by a vile sadistic father figure/ bully.
I’m told it’s a satire on recent Greek politics. The guy in the film is indeed the “father of his country.”
The acting, playing the totally evil manipulative father-figure and the near-autistic grown up kids, is completely brilliant. Can’t fault it. It’s just that overall there are too many violent scenes, especially sexual ones, and also extreme violence to animals and it leaves you wanting a long shower. You can tell the story without leaving the camera on the action that long!
Recommendation? It’s a powerful condemnation of the regime of the last thirty years. People praise the static camera. I just call it basic camera. It sticks in the memory. You wish it didn’t. Avoid.
Peter Viney's Blog 
I’m sorry Peter, but films with a level of subtext such as DOGTOOTH are obviously not your domain. Judging by your comments, you are aware that the film offers depth and meaning that has eluded you (which is fair enough), but to then recommend that others avoid the work is going a step too far.
No one should ever avoid any film on the recommendation of someone else. Everyone must be free to respond (positively or negatively) to a work of art (which DOGTOOTH most certainly is) on their own terms. Recommendations – pro or con – are little more than expressions of ego. The job of the reviewer or critic is to elucidate – not to warn people off based on their own personal likes and dislikes. If you don’t understand a work of art, you’re not in a position to critique it, let alone make recommendations to others.
DOGTOOTH is an analogy, but not so much about Greek politics. Greek politics are no doubt implicated, but Lanthimos casts a much wider and less specific net. If the film is, as you say, a “foul, disgusting and violent film”, it is so because it reflects something foul, disgusting and violent in our world. As you say, “the world is a mountain of deceit”. That sums it pretty well. Watch the film again and reflect on the world we live in.The parallels are clearly evident, if you look a little deeper.
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Well, I think it’s definitely about Papandreou Snr, as a satire (I’m not implying he did those things). I thought the acting brilliant, as I said, but if you dislike sadistic incestuous violence, my “Avoid” is fair advice. Having said that my favourite Golden Turkey Award was “Last Year at Marienbad.”
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