Dogtooth

Yorgos Lanthimos' scary, witty tale of a dysfunctional Greek family is original, ingenious and sadly relevant as a study of parent-child relationships

Three teenagers confined to an isolated estate that may be on another planet spend their days listening to homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family abode is instantly assigned a new meaning. Having invented a brother who they claim to have ostracised for his disobedience, the uber-controlling parents terrorise their offspring into submission.

Yorgos Lanthimos' frighteningly relevant but mordantly witty look at a dysfunctional Greek family offers a brilliant if deeply disturbing analysis of the power dynamics of parent-child relationships. Highly original and insightful in its narrative details and directed with an impressively cool, almost mechanical precision, the film was greeted as a breakthrough in Greek filmmaking.