It’s true what Tolstoy wrote, that all happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. The family at the heart of Yorgos Lanthimos’ 2010 Best Foreign Language Film nominee (it lost to Denmark’s In A Better World) isn’t exactly unhappy, but they’re entirely dedicated to refracting their emotions and experiences through a unique lens. Trapped inside a microcosmic culture entirely of their own making, the parents of Lanthimos’ unnamed family have hit upon a canny way to keep their offspring entirely at their mercy: lie to them, repeatedly, consistently, about everything. As much a comment on parenting techniques as a meditation on the power of popular culture—has Rocky IV ever mattered to anyone as much as it matters to the misled eldest daughter?—Dogtooth gets away with all its big ideas thanks to sharp writing, biting humor, and a singular dedication to letting things go wildly off the rails at every turn. Tremendously strange and compellingly unique, Dogtooth could make viewers do almost anything, including identifying an armchair as a sea; a cat as a monster; and a masterpiece as, well, a masterpiece. —Kate Erbland
|
posted 3363 days ago