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RELEASED:
2009
DIRECTOR(s):
Yorgos Lanthimos
PERSONAL RATING:
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A couple live in a fenced-in
compound with their adult son and two adult daughters. The offspring have
been raised with deceptive methods, isolated from the outside world. The
parents have told the offspring they will be ready to leave the family
home once they lose a dogtooth, and that one can only leave safely by car.
The offspring entertain themselves with endurance games, such as keeping a
finger in hot water. They believe they have a brother on the other side of
the fence to whom they throw supplies or stones. The parents reward good
behaviour with stickers and punish bad behaviour with violence.
The father pays a security guard at his factory, Christina, to come to the
house and have sex with his son. Frustrated by the son's refusal to give
her cunnilingus, Christina trades her headband with the elder daughter in
exchange for oral sex from her. The elder daughter persuades the younger
daughter to lick her shoulder by bartering the headband. Later, the
younger daughter volunteers to lick the elder again. The elder has nothing
to offer in exchange, but the younger does not mind and experiments by
licking other body parts.
The father visits a dog-training facility and demands to have his dog
returned. The trainer refuses because the dog has not finished its
training, and asks: "Do we want an animal or a friend?"
When a stray cat enters the family's garden, the son kills it with a pair
of pruning shears. The father explains that such cats are deadly. Deciding
to take advantage of the incident, the father shreds his clothes, covers
himself in fake blood, and tells his offspring that their unseen brother
was killed by a cat. After he teaches them to bark on all fours to fend
off cats, the family holds a memorial service for the brother.
Christina again barters for oral sex from the elder daughter. The daughter
rejects her offer of hair gel and demands videocassettes of Hollywood
movies in Christina's bag. She watches the films in secret and afterward
recreates scenes and quotes their dialogue. When the father discovers the
tapes, he beats her with one of them, then goes to Christina's flat and
hits her with her VCR, cursing her future children to be corrupted by "bad
influences".
The parents decide that, with Christina no longer available, they will
have their son choose one of his sisters as a new sexual partner. After
fondling both sisters with his eyes closed, he chooses the elder. When he
engages in intercourse with her, she clearly has discomfort. She then
afterwards recites threatening dialogue from a Hollywood film to him.
During a dance performance for the parents' wedding anniversary, the
younger daughter stops to rest, but the elder continues, performing the
choreography from the film Flashdance (1983), disturbing her parents. That
night, she knocks out one of her dogteeth with a dumbbell and hides in the
boot of her father's car. The father discovers her tooth fragments and
searches for her fruitlessly. Although the family searches for her, she is
not located. The next day; the father drives to work. He exits the car,
still unaware his daughter is hiding in it. The film ends after the car,
unattended, remains still; no indication is given whether the hiding
daughter is able to exit the vehicle, or if she is merely waiting. |
