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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.

If you are easily offended by bold unusual film-making especially in the areas of sex and violence do not see this film. That said I just saw this at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and thought it was a very interesting and very brave film. Well worth seeing if you can like strong, unusual films. Probably close to 30% of the audience walked out, but I was encouraged by the 70+% that remained, especially since most of the audience were 60+ Americans. The 20-somethings I talked to on the way out were very enthusiastic. The woman sitting next to me said "What did it mean? I don't understand" but to me there were enough deep meanings and points to ponder on a 30-minute drive home and I can't wait to tell friends about it. Everything from the dangers of creating a "perfect family" to "the mechanization of capitalism and upper middle class life" to metaphors for the dangers of repressive families and governments. At it's simplest, it proves that people, especially young ones, are in so many ways what their parents make them. This is not a film you will forget!

A whole language of deceit is created by a father to make sure that his family don't venture into the unknown which he fears will corrupt them. This film talks about the myths and lies we are told to maintain status quo and the appearance of stability and normality. It explores the abuse of protecting a child from outside influences to the extreme of denying human instincts and inquisitiveness about their world. Its shows how telling children lies for their own safety makes them fearful of the world and patronises there innate understanding about life. Its amazing because it creates a world with an absurd, fully realised, vocabulary that is completely understood by the members of this family ; its surreal nature forces you to question the oddness and the parameters of your own existence. A life unquestioned and unexplored leads to a stagnant swamp of confusion.

I must confess that I didn't understand 'Dogtooth', a film that has been billed in some quarters as a "satire"; but I fail to see what it is supposed to be satirising. A couple raise their children in isolation from society, and feed them a diet of false facts about the world; in apparent accordance with their parents' desires, the children grow up with a highly unusual set of behaviours, morals and perceptions. The false picture painted by the parents is frankly bizarre, but their offspring have no external knowledge by which to judge it. But I never got any sense of what motivates the parents to behave themselves in such a strange manner, and they seem to live a similar, fairly joyless existence to their kids. Presumably this film is meant to be about something; but to me, it just felt like a pointless oddity.

I was expecting some kind of "The Village" film... Just to avoid spoiling.. The lights turned on, the credits were running and everyone was quiet and searching for answers in others looks. Its best surprise that I've got in years. You don't have to be special to watch it, just sit and you'll end it living it, even that it isn't your life. I appreciate latter how good the movie was when I realized that all the scenes didn't need background violins to drive your emotions to a certain field. Everything goes by itself naturally. I just registered to post this, as I couldn't believe those bad reviews. I'm a normal guy that doesn't read reviews, but this movie is different and I was curious about how would other people feel about it. Maybe its one of those that you just love or hate, but at the end you'll feel something that isn't indifference.

Bad direction meets an interesting script which by the way is an opportunistic rip off of Castle of Purity (1974), a Mexican film which i love (see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068348/). As the IMDb description states, the Mexican movie is ''The story of a disciplined and sexually driven man who keeps his family isolated in his home for years to protect them from the "evil nature" of human beings while inventing (with his wife) rat poison''.

The director just changed the scenery, added some minor details and served it to the audience. I feel pity for the poor Mexican fellow who saw both viewers and the academy rewarding this rip off.

In Greece, when talking about Greek movies we like, one of the expressions we mostly use is "it was good, for a Greek movie". I am glad to say that this one was good, period. It is definitely not an easy movie to watch, as it can be really intense and deals with one or two traditionally taboo issues, but it is definitely worth giving it a chance. For me it has been a completely surreal experience, best described as stepping into a world as peaceful as heaven and as confining as hell, where things seem to work in their own whimsical way, leaving me with a constant bafflement as to what is to come next. I honestly did not realize how time went by and, when it all came to an end, I found myself asking for more. This is a movie that disturbed, moved and fascinated me while I was watching it and made me think after having watched it. It is surreal, it is symbolic (it could definitely be seen from a political point of view), it is ironic and at times it can be unexpectedly funny in a dark, twisted way. Directing it in a "dry", "strict" manner, as if just trying to capture the events that take place, was definitely a perfect choice, as was the complete absence of music. The actors did a great job at acting in the emotionally detached manner that was required plus, I have to say, it probably took lots of guts for them to do some of their most "awkward" scenes. All in all, I would say I admired the artistic integrity of the director and actors and their dedication to getting across the main idea and the atmosphere of this movie.

I don't really know how I could classify "Dogtooth". Is it a drama? (Well for a drama it is kind of under-plotted.) Is it a comedy? (It is definitely not a comedy, even when you laugh you are still disturbed by the absurdity of it all.) Is it horror? (It is not horror, it's just a horrific situation but everything, the horror, the violence etc is mostly implied.) Is it fantasy? (Well it is an alternate reality, but mind you this is a family that kind of looks "normal" on the outside!) So really, I give up. It's just a really strange, really intriguing movie, one that in my opinion is definitely worth your time.

Oh and one more thing: it is also one of these movies that it is best to know the least things possible before you see them. Quite a few things (particularly the funny ones) are based on shock value - not that the whole movie is based on shock value, of course. If you ask me, even the theatrical trailers show too much.

This is a fine, but flawed, film. If consider this a film "unlikable", which is not to say that it's a bad film at all. What I mean is that it is not a film that makes you feel good about humanity, or inspired, or offers false hope with a Hollywood ending. I often ask myself while reviewing "unlikable" films, Did the director accomplished what they set out to do? Were their efforts effective?

The story is about parents who completely and utterly indoctrinate their children. The "children"--actually young adults--in this film have no understanding of the world outside the walls of their parents' compound. They are socialized, but only within the confines of what their parents seem appropriate. Most of their indoctrination is by omission. The rest is lies.

The subject is an uncomfortable one, and the film made me squirm in my seat, wondering what appalling behavior would be displayed next. Most of the kids' actions are through ignorance of certain social mores. The incest is figurative. If they had the capacity to make adult decisions, they'd just be considered weird, or emotionally enmeshed. Their innocence has no bottom, however, so you're left wondering what boundary of normal behavior they'll cross next.

That was what made me feel discomfort in the pit of my stomach: dread and disgust and pity. I believe that's the effect the director sought, and that's why it's successful.

Greek indie movie directed by Yorgos Lanthimos about three teenage siblings (a man and two women) who live in isolation without being able to leave home because of their protective and authoritarian parents who told them that they can only leave when their first canine tooth falls of, and another bunch of lies that make this family totally dysfunctional, as well as the film itself. Yes, it serves no function unless your idea of entertainment is to get bored. Towards the end of the film, I ask myself: what is the purpose or message? There are those who see in this film a social / family allegory, because we are largely the product of our education and of the lies we're told taken as truth, but even that perspective does not save the film from my negative evaluation, it was very badly thin and NO, it does not have a deeper meaning. It is what it is.

On the same topic, Plato already did it almost 2500 years ago. Just read his Allegory of the Cave (it's a very short text, you can find it easily on the net) and you'll be 1000x better served in less time.

Three teenagers live with their parents in an isolated house in the country. Their parents are over-protective and controlling, resulting in the kids living in an alternative-universe-like bubble.

Very weird and quite disturbing, the story of how a couple literally imprison and brainwash their adult kids. Some of the unintended consequences are quite funny.

Is very interesting in that you start to think that something bizarre is around every corner. Does drift on several occasions, and many things are left unexplained.

Dark yet funny, disturbing and weird. Certainly not to everyone's tastes.

Boy,am I upset with the Sitges Film festival Jurors this year!!! So this film is not for everyone, but if you like realistic and paced films, are not bothered by highly explicit scenes, don't mind taboo subjects, like independent film and are into original stories.... this is the movie for you. I've read negative comments about this movie. I get it. It's not the most easy movie to watch, but I haven't been this pleasantly surprised in a long time. Saw this in Sitges with a packed audience, and I believe most of the people there were glued to the screen and didn't want to see the film end. Surreal, emotional, cruel, realistic and beautiful would be the words I would use to describe this picture. At first you don't really understand what's going on or where you're at, but soon find yourself submerged in the sad and pathetic life of a disturbed family. This is definitely one of the most important indie films of the year; aside from the original and highly meaningful story, the film if impeccably made with astounding performances. Shame on the Sitges film festival! This movie deserved the best actress and the special critics award. And I say that on behalf of most of the other people who were at the festival.

Think your parents are/were overprotective? Not after "Dogtooth." Giorgos Lanthimos' film, the first Greek film to be nominated for an Oscar in more than 30 years, imagines the pinnacle of what sheltering and censorship of children would be like to an absurd degree. A strange and ruminating film that is as fascinating as it is disturbing and unpleasant, "Dogtooth," in all its gratuitousness, embodies everything that a great film should.

Told in a series of clips that use a few takes a possible, Lanthimos shows us life in this family's estate. The father (Chirstos Stergioglou) is the only one who ever leaves the premises, while the mother (Michele Valley) and three teenage children, two daughters and a son, stay at home. The mother is wise to it, but the kids only know the outside is dangerous (flesh- eating cats lurk around the fence for one thing) and they will not be able to leave until one of their dogteeth fall out. Of course when you're a teenager, they don't anymore.

Lanthimos covers the gamut of technicalities in terms of how this complete cut-off from society could work effectively. Every time the kids discover a word that has something to do with the outside world, the parents explain to them that it's another name for something within the estate walls. For example, the "telephone" is salt and "zombies" are little yellow flowers. The real airplanes that fly overhead are explained to be nothing but plastic toys that occasionally fall out of the sky (and when one does, the kids run to claim it).

The only thing the parents seem to have trouble controlling is human nature, which begins the calamity. The film opens with one of its more perverse facets. Every week or so, the father brings Christina (Anna Kalaitzidou), a security guard from his work, to the estate and pays her to satisfy the sexual needs of the son (Hristos Passalis). Presumably, the parents believe that boys need an outlet for their urges or else they will manifest them in destructive ways, which in this case would upset the very tidy life of this family.

As an "outsider," however, Christina brings with her some troubling influences. She somewhat seduces the eldest daughter, who's smitten by her as she would be any guest to the home given the rarity of that occurrence. This, however, brief in the film, influences the eldest's behavior pattern and sets off a series of events.

Lanthimos treats his film as an exhibit or exhibition of sorts. Choosing shots carefully and sticking with them for lengthy periods of time, the family becomes a case study. Jumping from scene to scene, the plot thrives on our curiosity as to why the parents have done this and in one what ways it has altered the psychology of the children. Most scenes either show how the parents maintain this grand illusion or how the children come up with games to keep themselves entertained.

Yet "Dogtooth" leaves its imprint in some explicit and uncomfortable sex scenes as well as a few instances of the father delivering discipline as he sees fit. Although these scenes are not unjustified in some ways because you have to be a bit sick and twisted to run your family like this, I would definitely argue that it's gratuitous and largely for shock value.

The reason "too much" applies to "Dogtooth" comes from its lack of context. Lanthimos expects us to infer motivation for why the parents have set up this world and these boundaries, even so far as crossing ethical lines to maintain it. We see results that create these compelling and complex characters, but do not dive deeply into the psyche. "Dogtooth" serves only as a scarily affecting showcase meant warn us about the dangers of censorship and what can occur when manufacturing family and a lifestyle.

~Steven C

Visit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com

No matter how perfectly made a system is, no matter how dark are the minds of the people, there is always the thirst for more. As this movie might say, the characters are driven by their own father and mom, thinking that zombies are yellow flowers and airplanes are toys, falling in to their garden. The situation though, gets very upset when sex comes in to the equation. As the Satan itself, it gives the knowledge to those characters to understand more about their lives and live moments of pleasure, moments forbidden by the system they live in. Its a real masterpiece. My congrats to the cast and the writer/director. Its a step ahead in to the human mind, trying to tell us what the hell is all about. The "family" issue, as it appears, is more than useless, as the characters are doomed to face something out of their reach, but with many promises. Stand up and take a bound...

Not a lot of movies shock me. So I was quite surprised the unsettling impact Dogtooth had on me. A father locks up his 3 children who are in their late teens - early twenties in a large house and they have stayed there all their lives.

The three children are told lies of various degrees. Living totally isolated from the world and in a manufactured universe, they do not react like normal people would. The lack of awareness and exposure makes for very interesting scenarios and reactions.

The film can be pondered upon on several levels. For instance, governments never really tell their people any thing close to the whole truth. Thoughts on these lines - the harms caused by leaving people in the dark are the obvious things one can take back from the movie.

I am very interested in the alternate viewpoint of the parents though. They genuinely thought exposing the children to the world would be harmful for them. While that is not some thing one can possibly agree with, there are some positives which do come out of it in my opinion. For instance, when one of the girls who has never having been exposed to popular culture, dances, she creates some thing unique. As she has not seen any thing before, she is not influences by any thing and creates her own style. That is a positive in my mind.

This is film which is close to a masterpiece. When the film had released, it was panned in The New York Times and received an average review from Roger Ebert. I am quite pleased then, that it is slowly getting appreciation and is ending up in a few best of the year lists as well. This is a must watch according to me. 8.5/10.

This director makes the most disturbing and weird movies. I first saw "The Lobster" and then "The Killing of a Sacred Deer". "Dogtooth" is strange on a whole new plane of weirdness and I'm looking forward to seeing Lanthimos' "Poor Things" which should be available soon.

You hear about odd families and cults and wonder if they are real or imagined. In some cases they are real. This family is, I hope, not real for the sake of the children.

Every director has a style that is usually unique -- some good, some bad. Yorgos Lanthimos is in a class by himself when it comes to strange. It makes me wonder about his sanity.

I'll start by saying: This is the best film I've ever seen! I think if you summon up Seidl, Haneke, Korine and Trier the result is Lanthimos. I'm speechless. Suddenly I remember why films like this has to be made. I love what there's no rules. When there's not necessary a need for understanding and no fixed answers given. It's a film you shouldn't even write an review about. It peels of every false layer of the human being and at deepest question the modern humanity. What have we become. It says to us: think outside the box. Live, without limitations. Embrace, even the madness. Life is a play. Now when this is said I must also compliment how beautifully it's filmed and edited. The scene with the barking dogs, which abruptly breaks into silence and into the tragic family constellation. It's finest art. And I laughed loudly, and my heart beating so fast. I was falling in love. I love this film, just as much as I love for example Elfrede Jelinek's texts. I love this film so much it hurts. I have no more words.