The masterpiece that brought Lanthimos to fame that year caused great controversy when it premiered at Cannes, and it was like a 21st-century "120 Days of Sodom." This analogy is a bit exaggerated, but seeing the extremely sick family and isolated child in the film still reminds me of the Republic of Salo in Pasolini's last work. Lanthimos' second work continues the author's label developed in the first work, using a set of self-consistent logic to construct an isolated environment space, coupled with a set of absurd rules to maintain the "world". run. Fortunately, the director got rid of the obscure and convoluted plot design of his debut "Guinita" and created a ridiculous sense of humor and cautionary morals in this realistic story.
On a practical level, this is the story of a harsh father who uses extreme methods to educate his children. All sorts of bizarre tactics emerge in an endless stream: banning the phone, hiring women to meet their son’s sexual needs, coaching family members to bark like dogs, etc. The ultimate goal is to isolate the child from the world and forbid them from leaving the home. Although the portrayal in the film is too absurd, the similar mentality of many parents in today's society is not uncommon. They often use the name of "love" to control or protect their children too much, for fear that children will encounter mistakes and failures in their growth. and adapting to the outside world.
However, the film is not intended to be a critique of today's paternalistic notions of education. In my opinion, the film tends to be more of a cautionary political allegory, which is what Lanthimos is best at. The almost closed family in the film is like a society under totalitarian rule. The father corresponds to the dictator, the mother is an accomplice to maintain the rule, and their children are undoubtedly the oppressed people. In order to maintain the rule, the dictator firstly used lies and tricks to exaggerate the dangers of the outside world, and built walls to keep people in captivity; secondly, they imprisoned their thoughts, filtered language and knowledge, and then "teach them" to the people (in the film). Parents deliberately misinterpreted the meaning of certain words, and the father took the initiative to "translate" the lyrics of Fly me to the moon is the most obvious); also through more means of clear rewards and punishments, constantly establish majesty in front of the people, and further maintain high-pressure rule.
In fact, the translation of the film's name into "The Canine Family" is much clearer and more accurate than "Dog Tooth". The extremely important symbol "canine teeth" buried a strong suspense in the development of the second half of the plot. The eldest daughter did not hesitate to knock out her canine teeth in order to escape from the family. In fact, it is a secret metaphor that the idea of freedom has begun. It was born in her, as she and her sister danced alone at a party celebrating their parents' wedding anniversary. And all of this is closely related to the female clerk brought back by her father. It is the woman who brought her the true face of the outside world and finally plucked up the courage to rebel against this totalitarian dictator.
Lanthimos seems to have enjoyed his design of making/breaking rules, and he was similarly portrayed in The Lobster later on. In this film, the fate of the daughter's last escape comes to an abrupt end in the ending screen, and the ending of "Lobster" also has the same effect.
In addition, the Greek director uses a lot of unconventional composition in the film, showing only the lower body, the foot, or cutting the head out of the frame. This bizarre aesthetic effect on the one hand confirms the meaning of the "weird wave" in Greece, and at the same time fits the theme of the film: people under totalitarian oppression are like animals and cannot be treated and embodied in a humane way. There is even a more shocking performance in the passage where the female staff member brought by the father had sex with his son. The two were completely mechanically cold.
Lanthimos knocked on the door of Cannes with this profoundly meaningful and dazzling work. Since then, "The Lobster" and "Death of the Sacred Deer", which were selected for the main competition, can reflect a unique author in a similar structure and atmosphere. Means, but also led the Greek "weird wave" to create a dazzling light in the film industry.
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