Plot
Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet...
Release Year: 2009
Rating: 7.2/10 (14,798 voted)
Critic's Score: 73/100
Director:
Giorgos Lanthimos
Stars: Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Aggeliki Papoulia
Storyline Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet. The trio spend their days listening to endless homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family abode is instantly assigned a new meaning. Hence 'the sea' refers to a large armchair and 'zombies' are little yellow flowers. Having invented a brother whom they claim to have ostracized for his disobedience, the über-controlling parents terrorize their offspring into submission. The father is the only family member who can leave the manicured lawns of their self-inflicted exile, earning their keep by managing a nearby factory, while the only outsider allowed on the premises is his colleague Christina, who is paid to relieve the son of his male urges. Tired of these dutiful acts of carnality, Christina disturbs the domestic balance.
Writers: Giorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Cast: Christos Stergioglou
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Father
Michele Valley
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Mother
Aggeliki Papoulia
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Older Daughter
Mary Tsoni
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Younger Daughter
Hristos Passalis
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Son
Anna Kalaitzidou
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Christina
Alexander Voulgaris
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Dog trainer
Opening Weekend: $6,686
(USA)
(27 June 2010)
(2 Screens)
Gross: $110,197
(USA)
(20 March 2011)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
In 2011 it became only the 5th ever Greek film to be nominated for an Oscar. The last film nominated from Greece was
Iphigenia.
Goofs:
Continuity:
In the bathroom scene, where the girl is trying to remove her tooth, when the girl is hitting her mouth in front of the mirror with the dumbbell, as she is laughing, blood running in her jaw, after the cut, her jaw is clear without blood.
Quotes:
[first lines]
Mother:
The new words of the day are: "Sea", "Highway", "Road trip" and "Shotgun".
User Review
Normality is out of the question.
Rating: 8/10
I give up. After sitting in front of the computer for almost half an
hour, tossing and turning thoughts in my head as I try to write
something about my latest adventure at the Auckland International Film
Festival – "Dogtooth", I've decided that it is not possible to do so.
What I will say is this: watching "Dogtooth" was one of the strangest
experiences I've ever had. I have honestly never seen any other film
like it. Sometimes hysterical, sometimes shockingly intense. It is a
hypnotic trip that displays brilliant originality and borderlines pure
insanity. In my humble opinion, it is a film that should be watched by
every single person, for the experience alone. Sadly, like so many
other gems, I'm almost certain that this film will never find a wide
release, so, please do seek it out, I beg you all.
I am so glad that I watched the movie cold, as the only things I knew
about the movie was a promotional photo and the fact that it's Greek, a
decision that I believe made the experience even more powerful for me,
and a decision that I advise you all to take.
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