 Thanks for checking out this movie review video. This is for the 2009 film dog tooth and it is a Greek film This may actually be the very first Greek film. I've ever watched. I'm not sure. I've seen plenty of foreign films But this may be the first Greek one But this is by your ghost Lanthimos and if people don't know your ghost Lanthimos and how he operates his movies are always Unsettling or at least from what I've seen they're Unsettling and they're awkward and one of the reasons they're awkward is apparently he doesn't give a lot of direction to his actors and actually kind of pushes them to do more of kind of like in a You know, non-normal human way of acting that's one of the biggest things about his films is that The people don't feel like people necessarily. It's very emotionless. It's very cold the way they act Which I think is good because it kind of helps to Let you as an audience member look at what's actually going on Devoid of any sort of human emotions and looking at them as normal people and actually kind of step back and look at the Situation and what's happening from a more objective standpoint because you don't feel invested in the characters But you feel invested in the story and what's being told and what's trying to be said basically So that's why I really love Lanthimos films at least the two that I've seen this far I've seen dogtooth obviously and I've also seen the killing of a sacred deer which is phenomenal And I think better than dogtooth which makes sense because it was after dogtooth, but I Do plan on watching the other ones the lobster the favorite I'm a fan of this style. The other thing is Lanthimos is films always are looking really good And he's consistently been working with one cinematographer. I need to call out his name Thamios Bacatakis this guy does amazing cinematography. He did dogtooth. He did the killing of a sacred deer He did the lobster. He also did the lodge so shout out to that guy for just being amazing at cinematography and between Lanthimos and Bacatakis Just visually very pleasing films now It's interesting because I saw the killing of a sacred deer first and then saw dogtooth. So it's interesting to know where Lanthimos and Bacatakis go after dogtooth to something that looks even better or something that feels even better just a bigger film budgetarily and in scope So just really cool. Anyway directed by Yorgos Lanthimos Like I said written by Lanthimos and someone else that he collaborates a lot with for scripts F them F the miss Phillip who who also worked with him on the lobster and killing of a sacred deer scripts This film was actually nominated for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards So that's a big deal obviously and for that reason it garnered a lot of respect within Greece It it was very highly lauded as being, you know, this wonderful, you know, patriotic kind of Greek thing Part of it was actually funded by the Greek Film Center That's actually something that a lot of countries have is funding that goes to filmmakers from their country the United States doesn't really do that which I Mean I kind of wish they would but whatever The film was lauded by the Prime Minister of Greece as a triumph for the whole country in a showing of what can be achieved In a difficult time for the country Greece has gone through a lot of tough things So it's interesting that You know, it's been lauded as this this wonderful triumph of a film I understand it from the standpoint of you know, the critical acclaim that it's gotten and the nominations for awards and everything but Did the Prime Minister watch it because it's very unsettling. It's it's very Weird and gross at a lot of times and not just like from a horror standpoint But from like, you know, obviously there's incest in it and like all sorts of messed up Stuff and I want to say swears if I don't have to But you know this film will kind of make you go there in a way just because it's so like What is going on here? But anyway, let's dig into it I have a lot to say the beginning with the cassette tape shows that the parents are trying to teach incorrect words to the kids I think it's a good way to set it up because it's weird It makes you wonder like what really is going on here But you understand that the parents in order to kind of keep their kids isolated Which is really what this all is bad is about and trying to really have the the utmost amount of control in Shaping who they become who they are even though, you know, obviously it ends up going wrong Obviously spoilers on this by the way. So I think starting with the language situation Is a really good way because it you're you're getting words with wrong definitions And it becomes obvious that it's because they're trying to keep Certain words out of their vocabulary with the correct definitions so that they don't start questioning things outside of the home They don't start saying well, what is this? What is that? And that's the connection to the outside world That's good connection to a larger society So if they take those words and they kind of change them to mean their own thing It keeps not only them physically inside the house, but it keeps them mentally inside the house It keeps their whole everything inside the house everything they learn is within the context of that that Family unit and really it seems to be mainly just controlled by the father in the film I'll just probably refer to them as a dad in it But the other thing is I think it's also important that at that point there's the the old the younger daughter And they don't have names in this the younger daughter It starts talking about playing the endurance game Which is basically we hold our fingers all under really hot water at the same time and the last person to pull it out Wins showing this kind of level of like it's a little messed up and weird But this level of like Subjecting themselves to pain a little bit sadistic a little bit masochistic And I think that's cool to have that in the opening scene as well because it's a bit of a foreshadowing Of what is to come? So it shows the control that's being put on them by the parents and then it also shows how it's going wrong already because these kids are starting to Psychologically be a bit different In in not a good way and things, you know, obviously escalate And I think the script and the film in general does a really good job of kind of escalating things gradually That it feels like it's at a good pace and the film's about an hour and a half long So it's not long either and it feels like a good pace basically The idea for the endurance game seems like the kids are extremely bored But then you understand that this is kind of like the starting point Of where we go and at the end of my review, I'll kind of give like all the benchmarkers that I really saw of things Ratcheting up and getting worse and leading to the big issue where you know the dog tooth is Knocked out Older older daughter knocks the dog tooth out of her head Or out of her mouth and then gets in the trunk of the car and then we don't know what happens after that But we can you know come up with it But obviously we then see not long after that The situation where the younger daughter is like cutting parts of a doll looks like a barbie doll And screaming while she does it so it's showing that she has this kind of fixation with pain Which is really setting things up and inflicting pain and that kind of continues But it happens with the other kids too. It's just shown in the younger daughter first Everything seems so mechanical and emotionless in this even the sex especially the sex Because i'm assuming what's being what's at play here is that the father's bringing that woman Christina From his work in the security guard To just have sex with the son in order to take care of that sexual urge in order to keep kind of more Aggressive emotions and the testosterone levels down So he doesn't become more aggressive and become more defiant maybe because you know when men get sexually frustrated Frustrated it can make it, you know, they're they're less at ease They're a little bit harder to control and especially if they're young so I think that's kind of the point of it But it was very risky as you end up seeing in the film because things don't go well with Christina as she starts you know teaching the older daughter about Oral sex and that warms its way in and then the vhs tapes make their way in and then All these things from the outside world that the parents were trying to keep out are there So I do question the actual move of bringing Christina in I would think instead that they would kind of talk to him about masturbating most likely like that makes more sense Than bringing another person in so I think that's kind of a plot hole in the film It doesn't feel realistic for the amount of control that the father's actually Having in the situation so that I think doesn't actually jive But obviously there's a lot of control, you know Even with bringing Christina in because they blindfolded the father blindfolded her when he's driving her there So they she doesn't even know where they live So it's just this in-and-out type thing. But then also when she's there No one's keeping an eye on her the mom. That's another thing like the mom's almost never around Like she's always at the house is what's insinuated, but she's never actually around. So that's just another layer of Issue of where things start to go wrong because like the father wants all this control But then the mother is just like kind of aloof in a sense It seems like maybe she's in her bedroom most of the time talking on the phone And doing other stuff that the the kids aren't supposed to know about. I don't know So the next level of control is revealed with the stickers and that reward system that they have And their video entertainment which basically aren't even films It's just home videos and that ends up happening a role later on To kind of mess with the perception of reality with those kids and cause even more problems Because when they're watching these videos, they think that's entertainment. That's what film is basically But it's real life. So when eventually the older daughter Sees Jaws and Rocky she thinks that is probably real life as well And that's why she starts to kind of emulate it and think oh, this is okay because everything we see On film is real life and we can emulate that because we've done that before so That kind of shows the level of How bad of an idea it really is to be Exerting this amount of control over these kids. So yeah, pretty bad Even though these actors like they definitely don't seem like kids But you know, what are you going to do for this type of content? You can't actually get kids terrible um So this really shows that their motivations in life and and um then even the entertainment they take in It's all manufactured by their parents everything in their life is manufactured by their parents and that's that extreme control Uh, the anesthetic huffing game is very very messed up. That's one of those next level things that kind of like Moves the danger forward a little bit more. It's another foreshadowing But it shows kind of how warped the kids are becoming because of their isolation Um, it just it's just that next indicator When the father goes to get his dog or to ask for his dog to to be taken um back And they say that the dog's only on like the second level of training and he needs to go through five This is the moment where they're kind of showing this parallel They talk about the dogs being molded like clay and that's exactly what's going on with the kids at that point with the father Um, and it's a statement. I don't know if this is or is not But I wrote down the question of is this a statement on the cruelty of training animals to be who we want them to be By showing us the same thing from an actual human perspective So i'm wondering if maybe lanthimos is um, kind of idea with this film was to be like Let's take dog training and kind of show it to an audience to a human audience in a way That it's being done with humans and giving them the idea that Isn't this a bad idea? Isn't this messed up all the You know, you're depriving these animals of their nature You're depriving these animals of who they really would end up being And I think that's interesting to kind of look at and and dive into and um, I feel like that could really be a point of this film The first moment of defiance we end up seeing is the older sister when she when she takes those two pieces of cake Now I don't know why but she she throws one of them over the fence That's never really explained maybe that's what bring the cat brings the cat to their yard And maybe I don't know she was trying to see if it brings anything I don't know but the other one she pockets So I assume she's going to eat that later But this is the very first moment of defiance against the parents that you see And it's just one in many and it's you know yet again another moment of foreshadowing To show you that defiance is happening and it is mainly the older sister who really goes with Uh or initiates the defiance and and sticks to it most Christina's role in the family starts to turn when she tries to introduce oral sex Which the parents obviously would not want because that's very improper. They're trying to keep things very proper According to you know They're messed up morals The kids think a salt shaker is a phone yet the mother actually talks on a phone in a room Um, but the kids think that she's just talking to herself That's one of those one of those things where they're actually showing the implementation of those Alternative definitions that were introduced in the beginning of the film actually being used when you know They say phone for a salt shaker when they're at the dinner table and then later They're like oh mom's talking to herself again And then you see the mom is actually using a phone Giving you the idea that the kids don't even know the concept of what a phone is or how it would work And you kind of see that later when the older sister goes in and actually finds Or I guess already knows about the phone pulls it out and starts to try to use it and then kind of puts it away Another showing of defiance, obviously It's a funny scene uh when the dad goes and gets the airplane for the brother the one that I forget I think it was the younger sister, maybe or no Maybe the older sister who throws it through the through the fence And then the father needs to go get it. It's just funny because the the son is just standing there He could just like go those few feet, but he's not allowed to and he knows that So the father like goes out in the car and then like opens the door and grabs it and goes back in Which is important because the father also says, you know When we end up going anywhere you have to be inside the car. That's how you're protected That's how you're safe. So when you you can Leave the house when you lose your dog tooth and then you can learn to drive the car When you grow a new dog tooth and that's right side or left side Which obviously is the title of the film. So it's very important The scene of the brother killing the cat seems like it's supposed to further draw that parallel between these kids and dogs Because of that, you know age old idea of you know, dogs will try and kill cats and that rivalry between them Also, that's a Awful scene for a lot of people including myself just because you know, I have a cat. I love cats. I'm you know around my house I am cat dad And so yeah, it's hard to see that stuff and it looked real with the cat's dead body But apparently I did some research and apparently at the end of the film There is a disclaimer saying that no animals were hurt in the making of the film I don't know I don't know I do stay away from you know, animal cruelty stuff like that That's why I've intentionally never watched cannibal holocaust and never will although I am told there's a sanitized version of it Which maybe I would check that out. I don't know but I've also heard the film's not actually that good so It does go too far in having the kids on all fours barking because that's kind of way too on the nose Where they draw that parallel once again with the the dogs and the kids With the cat like that's fine. It's a little more subtext but then they're on all fours barking and everything I feel like they should have not done that because that's just taking it too far That's kind of beating the audience over the head and saying did you get what we're trying to do here No, keep it more subtext. I like it better that way be subtle Don't insult your audience because that's kind of how I view that Wouldn't the kids question the idea of the mother giving birth to a dog Because they do that whole thing where they're like your mother's pregnant with twins and then they use it It's kind of like a scare tactic to be like you guys need to get your behavior in line Otherwise she's going to have these kids and you're going to have to share your rooms And they're like no, no, no, but then they also say she's also going to give birth to a dog Why like I do feel like they would probably question that because they do know that everyone in the family Is a human being so I think there would be questions related to that So I think that's yet another kind of small but bit of a plot hole in the script. So, yeah The dance dancing scene is unbelievably awkward. Actually, there's two dancing scenes and they're both very very awkward Just yet another kind of yorgos lanthimos type thing of humans being very awkward But it's funny like I found those dancing scenes funny You see how impressionable the kids are when the older one watches christina's movies and starts reenacting rocky and jaws Like I talked about this indicates a big problem that's coming as the only movies the kids have ever seen have been real life So most likely they that older one who saw it actually believes that it is real life And then you see her reenacting things and it is Disturbing to the degree that she reenacts stuff not so much the jaws portion because that seems a little more Just like funny and fun But the rocky one where she's like trying she's like making the motions of like punching herself and like being in pain And like spitting fake blood and stuff like that And I think that's kind of what moves her a little bit closer to being fine with the idea of knocking her dog tooth out That kind of like plants the seed a little bit The dad ends up trying to tie that vhs the vhs tapes that he finds To the idea of pain and punishment with the older daughter when he finds out what was going on And he does that obviously by taping the the vhs tape to his hand and beating her with it That's something that's done with animals a lot of the time and you actually see it Um earlier on when the dog's being trained when he's biting and they're like hitting the dog with a stick Which I hope they weren't actually hitting the dog with the stick. I guess the disclaimer would say they didn't but once again, you never Really know what was going on with these But I found that interesting because that yet is another like animal training type thing, which is like You know the response of you did that boom pain. Don't do that. It's it's the um the programming basically The dad's idea to replace christina with one of the daughters shows an unbelievably sick level That he's really willing to go to to maintain control. It shows how Obsessed he is to a very messed up degree about maintaining this control. Um, like I said It would make a lot more sense if in the script like he would the kid was the kid would just be masturbating I do Feel like this was very unnecessary that this was just kind of done to be more unsettling I don't necessarily have a problem with it being in the film, but I also feel like it wasn't needed It's just another degree of sick Which I guess they were just going for Maybe I don't know The scene of the older daughter knocking out the dog tooth is brutal. Yeah the way they shot that it looks real It looks brutal the way they were able to you know, when she's swinging it the the blood splattering on the on the Mirror it looked very real and it was very impactful It's a very ambiguous ending But I would assume that the older daughter ends up dying in the trunk Because how would she even know how to get out of it? First of all, can she get out of it? Because I don't know if that's one of those cars that has like an inside release lever second of all, she probably wouldn't even know if that exists And yeah, the father obviously doesn't know that she's there So I assume my assumption is where things go from there is she dies in the trunk of that car So her actually leaving the house leads to her death because she wasn't set up with any sort of Tools or thinking in order to survive outside of the house so and and it's interesting though because She goes to the car because she's been conditioned to know that that's if she's going to leave the house That's how she's still protected, but she needs to do it without being discovered by the parents So that's all she knows how to do. So in her mind, she's safe But in the end, she's not actually safe because she hasn't been taught about The dangers of getting stuck in the trunk of the car. So that ends up being her demise basically So she's kind of in an extension of the house. So still in that world But leaving it at the same time, but I'm assuming that leads to her demise Silence is used in this film quite a bit And I think it's really done well because it helps with letting you feel awkwardness in the film Which there's plenty of and the tension which there's also plenty of I love when directors use silence. Well, and that's done here Very interesting cinematography like I talked about All these they have all these shots with multiple layers in them Where it'll be like something that you can focus on close up and then something further And there are ones as well that are kind of like three layers in a way like the fence scene The first one where you see the the the sun talking to the fence And it's kind of like him the fence and then like the mountains in the background which look really interesting So they did a lot of like cool layered shots like that, which just look great and are really really nice There's a lot of attention to detail in the script because of how many aspects of control end up being shown by the parents Um, so I I wrote down a lot of the key ones and here they are just kind of listing them off The alternate word definitions the rewards system The blind folding for transportation and use of the car Video entertainment. That's just the home videos cutting the water bottle labels off because they show that at one point Using toy airplanes to disguise the existence of actual airplanes because of the one point where they're just like Look a plane fell out of the sky because you can't tell when they're far away the kids can't that they're actually much larger So that's how they disguise that Using pregnancy as a threat to the kids to scare them into their behavior Deciding to turn incest Turn to incest for the sun's sexual needs like all those levels of control all that They didn't need to show that much but they they went to You know, it was very painstaking in the script to kind of Make it feel very controlled and then uh Here are the the main um kind of steps that I that I identified for things getting out of control First the endurance game Of you know the finger under the hot water then the doll cutting with the screaming Then the anesthetic huffing game then the older sister cutting the brother with the knife on his arm Then the sun killing the cat Then the older daughter re-enacting movies Then the younger daughter hitting the sun with a hammer And then the older daughter finally knocking out her dog tooth and leaving those are kind of like the main points where things really escalate And the last thing I had to say is lanthimos films seem to be awkward In a way that lets you see people in humanity in a more objective way With no emotion to relate to you can look at everyone as kind of an alien being and really just see The situation and focus on that story Now that said it doesn't always work when people try and do something kind of like that But I just feel like the way lanthimos pulls it off It does work and maybe some people feel differently about that but that's just you know my opinion on it So out of five stars with half stars in play where am I going to put this one? I'm going to put it at a pretty solid four star rating. I think it is a really good film Uh probably pretty tough for a good amount of people for many reasons You know the animal potential animal cruelty thing The incest uh the brutality of some of the stuff the The just like crazy control that the family has So yeah, it's messed up and it's weird, but That's lanthimos. So I'm even more excited now to eventually check out the lobster and the favorite Which I know the favorite is not like the other films I think the lobster isn't as much either, but it is kind of from what I've heard But anyway, uh put some comments down here. We'll talk about this film Do me a quick favor hit that subscribe button because it means a lot to me and the growth of my channel And it literally takes you a second. So, you know, no big deal for you guys But it is a big deal for me. 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