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Best Films of 2010 #11 – ‘Dogtooth (Kynodontas)’

Dogtooth

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

It’s important to note that Dogtooth entered on our top ten list in 2009 at number 3. We have contributors across the globe and since movies are released at different times (sometimes different years) not everyone had a chance to see the film last year. It is somewhat amazing Dogtooth entered into our “best of” list two years in a row considering the votes were split by our staff from both years. Infused with its own brand of hyper-stylized realism, Dogtooth feels so out of this world that it’s almost  impossible to pin down. The winner of the Prix Un Certain Regard at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, the Greek film is twisted and weird enough that the absurd comedy of Todd Solondz seems lucid by comparison. Dogtooth is not for all tastes, and at many times can be remarkably unpleasant to watch, particularly when it exposes the bizarre sexual undercurrents of the family’s life. Licking is a substitute for hugs and the film is peppered with oddly sexual situations, some amusing, all disturbing. Even aside from the sexuality, the family’s home life can only be described as bizarre. Cats are alien creatures that should be destroyed with garden shears, and reenacting the dance choreography in Flashdance is accepted at the dinner table. At times the film is extremely graphic, with pools of blood dripping from the frame, and scenes best described as pornographic… (read the full review)

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