Dogtooth

Dogtooth. A Greek film about a very, very weird family.

Dogtooth is disturbing anti-social satire that is shot in an art-house sort of way. It's is one of the most disturbing and original films I've seen. This is not because of it's violence (although there are some violent and gory moments) it's because of the concept. It's about a husband and wife who keep their children ignorant of the world outside. I loved this idea for a film. The film is powerful and shows the audience how easy it is to manipulate and persuade people into believing the most bizarre things and make them carry out unusual behaviours. No special effects are involved, no cgi. It's quite blunt.  It's very creepy and there are scenes where you don't know whether to laugh or be scared because it makes you feel so uneasy. For example, this dance scene: 

                                       

For me, it's not only the awkward dancing that makes me feel uncomfortable but also how it's been shot. It feels as though nothing in this shot makes sense. It doesn't feel right. The childish party decorations for celebrating their parents wedding anniversary, the way one girl is dancing aggressively and the other getting lost and not know what to do. You almost don't pay attention to the boy playing the guitar because you're transfixed on the girls and thinking 'what?!' Everything in the film is made to appear ordinary. But the more ordinary things seem, the more shocking we eventually find them. It's this sort of element I want to bring across in a future film of mine. 

The "children" have never seen the outside world and have been locked in the "compound" (home) their whole lives. They've been brought up to believe bizarre things such as cats are the most dangerous animal on the earth and the planes that fly over the their house are the same toy planes they play with. They are taught different meanings for everyday words. For example, they are told that a "zombie" is "a small yellow flower," and that "sea" is a chair. .The only way to leave the house into the open world is by losing their 'dogtooth' (canine). Because the main characters are all adults, the chance of this happening isn't likely. Near the end of the film the eldest daughter smashes her face with a dumbbell and psychically tears out her canine. Having lost her dogtooth she then hides in her fathers car trunk until he drives to work the next morning, ending the film with her now in the real world. It really makes you want to see what happens with that character and for the first time ever I wanted to see a sequel. She probably wouldn't last long in the real world - she'll be like an alien but she'll get caught up in some pretty interesting scenarios. It sort of made me think of the Amish...

(Cute, but deadly...)

Although there is violence thrown in here and there with this film, it's the least most disturbing part of the whole film. It's the misconception and the brainwashing of the three main characters that are fascinating and it leads them to acting strange behaviours and do disturbing things, particularly on each other! 

It's a fascinating film and a real inspiration for film makers who are thinking of films 'outside the box'. 

I like films that are a bit twisted and stay in your mind for a long time after you've seen the film. I feel that this film certainly pushes the boundaries in story telling in film. It doesn't rely on jumps or have any scary moments with high orchestra! It has made want to try and do something completely different to a simple idea in my third year of university but not as bizarre and strange as a film like 'Eraser head' ...