Netflix Review: Dogtooth : Is a movie good if it's this messed up?

A couple of weeks ago, a dear friend of mine requested a review on a movie he had seen. Of course  I felt obliged to do it- requests for movie reviews show an engaged following of some sort. When I found the film on Netflix however, I immediately delayed watching it. For those of you that haven't searched for the Greek film Dogtooth on Netflix, the image presented with it shows a woman whose mouth is covered in blood. The premise of such a film being what would happen if you raised your children completely cut off from the outside world in an extremely controlled, 1984 - like environment. I'm guessing you can imagine my hesitation to watch this- especially since my poor, college student lifestyle demands that I use my parent's Netflix account. The thought of my mum being automatically recommended movies like Dogtooth made my skin crawl, but eventually I sucked it up and watched the movie (making sure to indicate to Netlfix that it was not something I wanted to see again).

Firstly, the fact that the whole film is in Greek, probably actually helped me keep watching it. As long, as the scenario seemed as far away from my own life as possible, it dimmed some of the horror of the film.  Director Yorgos Lanthimos wastes no time in freaking you out, mostly with the introduction of a female security officer who is brought home every once in a while by the dad to satisfy his son's libido. Even just writing about such concepts is weird to me, but regardless I carried on watching. The film to its credit gets much better, as eventually you see the types of mechanisms the parents use to keep their kids imprisoned. The mechanisms are really devious- with the parents even manipulating the vocabulary of their children to keep them under control. For example ,the mother teaches the kids that the word "excursion" is a very resistant material and that a motorway (highway for you Americans) is a strong wind.

every ten minutes or so...

All of this of course is doomed to fail at some point, and as you watch, it's apparent that it is only a matter of time until things unwind. The shocking thing about this movie is that the situation deteriorates in a way that is messed up beyond belief. And yet, once I was an hour into the movie, I was clearly going to finish it. My roommate couldn't help but laugh as I cussed and grimaced all the way to the finish, and then proceeded to watch episodes of Frasier to cheer me up. The acting performances were strong, and the premise very well thought out and executed, but I find myself at an internal struggle to see if that even matters.

I have often pontificated about the ability of films to be works of art that can remind us about the origins of acting, plays and drama.  But when you watch a movie like this, it is impossible not to be disgusted, and if you aren't then you have a problem. I've seen my fair share of messed up movies, notably an occasion where I got tricked into seeing The Human Centipede 2 before I knew what that series was. I was expecting a standard horror movie, and instead went through an hour and a half of covering my eyes. But Dogtooth is different, in that it is more the concept of situations that are messed up as opposed to any insane violence. But when I think about it, some of the greatest pieces for the stage and screen have been messed up in multiple ways. Hell, even Sophocles drama , Oedipus Rex's climax is centered around the poor man realising he married his own mother and killed his father. So perhaps I am merely too sensitive a soul , but I've come to realise that there are some acclaimed movies  that you don't really need to see, and for me,  Dogtooth is one of them.