KUNODONTAS (DOGTOOTH)

Greece, 2009, 94 minutes, Colour.
Krystos Stergioglou, Michelle Valley, Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni, Hristos Passalis, Anna Kalaitzidou.
Directed by Jorgas Lanthimos.

A festival winner (Cannes, Un Certain Regard, 2009) and a challenge to its audiences. Since the film was made, news stories have emerged about parents imprisoning children in their homes and subjecting them to physical and/or sexual abuse. So, this strange story of a wealthy Greek family may not seem as surprising as, a few years ago, it might have been.

This is a comparatively quiet drama, working its power on its audience cumulatively rather than shock tactics. In fact, the home looks quite elegant and the three children, young adults, whose life is restricted to the house and grounds and swimming pool, are generally cheerful having no idea what is happening to them. A strange clue is given as the film opens, making us wonder what is happening. It seems that the parents re-define words so that the children will not know how much of the outside ticks. They have been trained to think cats are humans and that the planes flying overhead are only toys. They behave in childish ways, playing games, playing competitions for prizes and rewards. So, this is a kind of (forced) innocent Eden supervised by a possessive father playing god (who is shown going out to work, a successful industrialist) and a passive mother.

Things change because of sexual needs. The father brings a security guard (blindfolded) for the son whoh becomes friendly with the two sisters and the family.

Needless to say, the pressures mount – and, after building audience tension with a threatening situation, the film just stops, leaving the audience to come to terms with their revulsion at such parental behaviour and its consequences for the children, and what will now happen as the circumstances have changed so drastically.

1. The impact of the film? As drama? As moral fable? As discomfiting and disturbing? Questions and issues?

2. The film and its many awards? Critical favour? Difficult for audiences?

3. The Greek setting, the Greek background? The parallel cases throughout Europe and this being a European phenomenon?

4. The house, affluent, the many rooms, the children’s rooms, the dining room? The grounds, the swimming pool? The children stopping at the edges of the property? Never seeing the factory, the industrial area for the father? The musical score?

5. The opening and its puzzle, the family and the bathroom, the focus on the individuals? The defining of popular words? The different meanings? The later showing of the family changing the meaning of words like zombie and making it mean a flower? The first indication of the parents and their deception, their power over their children?

6. The father, his age, a businessman, going out to work, his seeming success? The affluent home? His bringing Christina to the house? For his son? For the other children? His relationship with his wife? Her age, compliance with her husband, sharing in his attitude towards the children and their protection? Participating in the games?

7. The introduction to the children, the two daughters, the son in between? Their age?

8. The audience realising that they had never been out of the house and grounds? Their playing games, behaving like children, competitiveness, competitions, the rewards, the bargaining with each other? Their comfortable life, a kind of Garden of Eden? In the house, in the swimming pool, their clothes? Their personalities – indeterminate?

9. The audience response to the attitude of the parents, imprisoning their children, their motivation, alleged protection of their children? Making the outside world fearful? The episodes with the cat, the children thinking a cat was a person? Their reacting accordingly? The incident with the plane, the mother throwing the toy plane and the children thinking planes were toys? Their having the video player – but watching it or not? Except for their own home videos, and the video of the family with Christina?

10. The son, his age, Christina coming to him, the sexual encounter and its effect? The effect on Christina, her personality, her reasons for coming? Blindfolded? Her encounters with the daughters? Her coming under suspicion – especially with the daughter asking for the videos? The daughter not seen watching them but just sitting, the end, had she watched them or not?

11. The daughters amongst themselves, the games, with their brother? The parents and their decisions about their son and sexuality? The choice of the older daughter? The encounters? The younger daughter and her licking? The encounter with Christina? The beginning of disruption?

12. The older daughter, her curiosity? Trying out the phone and being afraid? Her decision to leave? Getting in the boot of the car?

13. The search for the daughter, the panic, the son and daughter staying off the road, the father and his searching everywhere? His finally driving to the factory? His younger daughter in the boot – could she have survived?

14. The surrealism in this presentation? Yet the sundrenched tone of realism? The revelations in the press of parents and their abuse of children? This film and its more restrained approach – but nevertheless disturbing audiences about the power of parents over children and the effect? The family as a symbol of contemporary societies?