Canino (2009)

Three teenagers live isolated, without leaving their house, because their over-protective parents say they can only leave when their dogtooth falls out.

Director:

Yorgos Lanthimos

Writers:

Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos

Stars:

Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Angeliki Papoulia

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 20 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Christos Stergioglou	...	Father
Michele Valley	...	Mother
Angeliki Papoulia	...	Older Daughter (as Aggeliki Papoulia)
Hristos Passalis	...	Son
Mary Tsoni	...	Younger Daughter
Anna Kalaitzidou	...	Christina
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Krikris	...	Colleague
Sissi Petropoulou	...	Secretary (as Athanasia Petropoulou)
Alexander Voulgaris	...	Dog trainer

Storyline

Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet. The trio spend their days listening to endless homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family abode is instantly assigned a new meaning. Hence 'the sea' refers to a large armchair and 'zombies' are little yellow flowers. Having invented a brother whom they claim to have ostracized for his disobedience, the über-controlling parents terrorize their offspring into submission. The father is the only family member who can leave the manicured lawns of their self-inflicted exile, earning their keep by managing a nearby factory, while the only outsider allowed on the premises is his colleague Christina, who is paid to relieve the son of his male urges. Tired of these dutiful acts of carnality, Christina disturbs the domestic balance.

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Plot Keywords:

overprotective father | sadism | misuse of language | child abuse | isolated house | 

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Taglines:

The cat is the most feared animal there is!

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

M/18

Did You Know?

Trivia

The inspiration for the film came about because of a discussion Yorgos Lanthimos was having with some friends who were about to get married. When Lanthimos expressed doubts about the institution and family itself, he was struck by the idea about what would happen to a man who went to the ultimate extreme of protecting his family.

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Goofs

When the boy brushes his shoes it is seen he touches the carpet with the brush, but the carpet stays clean.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mother: The new words of the day are: "Sea", "Highway", "Road trip" and "Shotgun".

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Venice Film Festival 2011 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Fly Me to the Moon
Written by Bart Howard
Performed by Frank Sinatra

User Reviews

Very odd

I must confess that I didn't understand 'Dogtooth', a film that has been billed in some quarters as a "satire"; but I fail to see what it is supposed to be satirising. A couple raise their children in isolation from society, and feed them a diet of false facts about the world; in apparent accordance with their parents' desires, the children grow up with a highly unusual set of behaviours, morals and perceptions. The false picture painted by the parents is frankly bizarre, but their offspring have no external knowledge by which to judge it. But I never got any sense of what motivates the parents to behave themselves in such a strange manner, and they seem to live a similar, fairly joyless existence to their kids. Presumably this film is meant to be about something; but to me, it just felt like a pointless oddity.

Details

Country:

Greece

Language:

Greek

Release Date:

29 July 2010 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Canino

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,686, 27 June 2010

Gross USA:

$110,248

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$494,825

Company Credits

Production Co:

Boo Productions, Greek Film Center, Horsefly Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1