Dogtooth - Movie Review

With the Oscars approaching, this is a good time to talk about some Oscar nominees that the majority of movie viewers likely missed. Dogtooth is an odd film. While I am uncertain why it received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011, it was certainly interesting. It is definitely not a film that is intended for a wide audience. Strange, violent acting-out and excessive sex and nudity within the context of a script that breaks from normalcy will not appeal to everyone.

Dogtooth is a Greek film that reminded me a bit of The Village. Not so much in the setting as in the concept. A husband (Christos Stergioglou) and his wife (Michele Valley) have decided to raise their son (Hristos Passalis) and two daughters (Aggeliki Papoulia and Mary Tsoni) without any contact with the outside world. The only outsider that is allowed in is Christina (Anna Kalaitzidou), who is a security guard at the factory where the father works. She is blindfolded until her arrival, where she is paid to provide conjugal services to the son.

The family attempts to create an idealistic world completely cut off from the outside. Their country estate has lush gardens and a swimming pool, surrounded by a high wooden fence. There is an indication that the events were set in motion by the death of a younger brother. The sisters and brother spend their days reading and playing games. When an unknown word is introduced into their vocabulary, it is given a mundane definition, like "bright light" or "small yellow flower." Christina's presence creates an imbalance that eventually stirs a longing in the oldest girl to escape. Their relationships become more intense as the family further withdraws from the outside, leading to a less than dramatic conclusion.

Giorgios Lanthimos, along with writer Efthymis Filippou, have created an interesting scenario. Conceptually, the story has an incredibly unique flavor. The dysfunction created by isolation allows for interesting character development and interaction, making this film more a character study than a traditional "beginning, middle and end" type story. The actions of the parents seem a bit unusual, but that plays into the story line. While the details of how this situation evolved are never fully explained, the situation seems to stem from an earlier incident and appears to be progressing downward. The dialogue was intriguing, especially the introduction and handling of foreign concepts (and the homage to Flash Dance and Rocky). While I was not impressed with the ending, the story was unique.

It is hard to make a case for the actors in a film with this much dysfunction and sexuality. It would be easy to say that this film borders on soft core porn at times, but the themes are central to the story. None of the actors necessarily stood out to me as exceptional, but there weren't any bad performances, either. The emotional aspects of the film are difficult to fully comprehend because there is not a great deal of emotional force. If I had to pick a best performance it would be Papoulia's. She demonstrated some range and also had a disturbing scene near the end of the film that was pretty convincing. A decent but not exceptional cast.

This film is unrated. There is no way the MPAA will give this film anything less than an R rating. Knowing the way the MPAA rates films, this will be an easy call. The film has multiple graphic sex scenes with full nudity. That is enough for the rating without going any further. The language wasn't bad. The film did have quite a bit of violence, especially a late scene of self-mutilation. The themes in this film are dark and not intended for younger audiences anyway. I would suggest a minimum mid-teen audience for this one. This film has a one hour, 34 minute run time.

Dogtooth proposes an interesting experiment in human development. Isolation can create intriguing dynamics. This film examines that situation, while creating just enough additional dysfunction to create dramatic interactions between the characters. Sibling rivalry, sexuality and outside forces all play a role in the development of the story which culminates in a disturbing scene followed by an open ending. I wasn't crazy about the ending, but I understand life is like that sometimes. The film is unique enough to recommend, but it is not for everyone. The graphic nudity and violence seems excessive at times. I enjoyed the film but not the ending. 6.5/10.