#marytsoni

#78 Dogtooth (2009)

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Greece

This is a movie best seen without the conditioning of opinion, analysis or reaction. So, if you have not seen Dogtooth –stop reading this now!

If you have seen it, or are curious - A.O. Scott’s 2010 review in the New York Times called Dogtooth, “both appalling and marvelous”; that is an accurate appraisal in my opinion. I have seen this film probably half a dozen times now, and it still sets me on edge. It always has me shaking my head, and generally leaves me dumbstruck by its sheer oddity. If the attempt in art / film is to confront the viewer with the complete disruption of normal understanding and expectation, this film succeeds, and there may be none better. Historically, art movements such as Dada, and Surrealism, were the first modern manifestations of art / visuals used to confound or assault the viewer, and revolt against the structural assumptions of civilization. Both groups used the artistic process to tap into the psychotic taboos of the id, and harness its raw primitive power. They wanted to confound with the nonsensical, the irrational, and weaponize visuals to attack the institutions that prompted World War 1. With Dogtooth, I don’t think it was Lanthimos’ intention to make a 21st century surrealist film, but enough strangeness permeates this movie, that it coerces the viewer into some very uncomfortable and unexplained territory.

The film is hard to categorize, let alone adequately elucidate. It’s not realism, it’s not pure fantasy, and it’s not so purely experimental as to be unwatchable. I do enjoy this film, and like it more on each subsequent viewing. It is unique and unforgettable, with certain passages that stand as some of the most intriguing I have seen put to film. With that, I’d have to admit that I really don’t care if the story makes sense, or if the director’s intention is simply to provoke me. I’m enchanted with the whole goofy spectacle of the thing, and the movie just keeps doling out one bizarre scenario after another.

Seeking out the freakish or the foul is not hard to achieve in the age of the internet. In short order, one can easily witness an unending selection of some of the more wretched accomplishments of humanity. So, how could a film like Dogtooth hold someone’s attention, let alone be taken seriously long enough to stay engaged for the duration of the film? Perhaps seeing this sort of unsettling footage holds some endless fascination for us, I’m not sure. What I do know is that Lanthimos has put together several movies (Dogtooth, Alps, The Lobster) that excel in these strange narratives, characters, and situations. For me, these movies are lewd, abusive, horrific, and just about every uncomfortable emotion in between, but ultimately they are fascinating. My suggestion is to watch them, study them, and get comfortable with the absurdity of them. This is film making that is willingly venturing into daring and dangerous territory – and there is something there worth considering, even if only for the time you are exposed to it. If the experience has registered upon you properly, you will walk away different. You may not like Dogtooth or the other films by Lanthimos, but you will be hard pressed to ignore them, and you will be even more hard pressed to forget them.