Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos / Greece / 2009 / 97mins / Cert: 18.
Starring: Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Aggeliki Papoulia and Mary Tsoni. Language: Greek
Winner of the Un Certain Regard Award at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Greek filmmaker Christos Stergioglou’s second feature is a revelation.
A married couple and their three children live happily in a high standard villa surrounded by a palisade. Only the father can leave the house -the children are manipulated in an alternative reality that keeps them completely isolated from all contact with the outside.
A cat is a bloodthirsty predator, Frank Sinatra is the family’s grandfather and sex is just another bodily function in the hilariously grotesque Dogtooth, a surprising tour de force where the fixed shot is an impassive executioner and the banality of its setting creates a mesmerizing and disturbing atmosphere.
