Kynodontas

Nov 11 2009 Not Rated 1h 37m
Drama, Thriller

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 uber-controlling parents terrorize their offspring into submission.

Plot

Kept on a short leash through a volatile mixture of indoctrination, misinformation and fear, three grown-up siblings--two sisters and one brother--find themselves confined to their lavish, isolated villa. As a result, holed up in their beautiful, high-walled prison, the siblings rely on their cold, manipulative parents to learn about the ways of the world, taking reality-defying lessons from instructional cassette tapes. And, as the cruel patriarch and his frigid wife deliberately keep their unsuspecting, submissive children in the dark, freedom is nothing but a word. Then, a bad influence in the shape of security guard Christina enters the equation, and suddenly, sweet, baffling temptation threatens years of meticulous mind-programming. Is the grass greener on the other side of the fence? With this in mind, how can an ordinary dogtooth stand in the way of happiness?

Written by

Efthimis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos

Directed by

Yorgos Lanthimos

Production Countries

Greece

Production Companies

Horsefly Productions, Boo Productions, Greek Film Centre

Languages

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 20 wins & 21 nominations total

Scores
# of Votes
119,449
Average Rating
7.1 out of 10
Metascore
73
Popularity
NA