Review of Dogtooth (2009) by Jennifer S — 21 Feb 2011

Dogtooth is a bizarre film and not for the faint of heart. The film takes place in modern day Greece and concerns an odd, secluded family. There is a father and mother, two sisters and a brother. The siblings seem to be between the ages of 16 and 19 and have never left the house. Their father has taught them that they will be unprepared to face the dangers of the outside world until one of their "dogteeth" falls out. The children have no idea what lies beyond their fenced in back yard. Their parents teach them new words that aren't right--for example, they are taught that "sea" means a large, leather chair and "zombie" is a small, yellow flower.

When the father starts bringing home a female security guard to satisfy the sexual urges of the male son (none of the children have names), the children inevitably come in contact with outside influences. The eldest daughter blackmails the security guard into giving her some videotapes (when the daughter begins quoting them, we realize they were Jaws and Rocky). When the father finds out, he violently attacks the security guard and tells her "I hope your children have a bad influence and develop a bad personality!".

What is perhaps most disturbing about Dogtooth is that you never find out why the father (and mother, who we can assume has been in the outside world before) choose to raise their children this way. There are some hints. For example, the father is having his dog trained. There are dog and obedience references throughout the film. So maybe he thinks that children need to be trained like dogs? But then why teach them wrong words for things?

Dogtooth offers no answers or explanations. You could interpret the film as making an argument about over-protective parents and the inevitable damage such parenting will cause. You could view the film as a commentary on "feral child" situations where parents keep their own children captive. Or you could see the film as simply a strange world and a strange "what if" scenario dreamed up by the director. In any case, Dogtooth is an interesting, often darkly comic film. But be warned--the sexual and violent scenes will turn stomachs.