Dogtooth is a Greek film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and released in 2009. The three teenagers in the film - two sisters and their younger brother - have never left the isolated estate where they live with their parents. The parents, who are never named, maintain strict control over their children's lives, keeping them ignorant of the outside world and forbidding them from leaving the property.
To keep their children obedient and compliant, the parents use a system of rewards and punishments. They teach them a bizarre vocabulary and indoctrinate them with false beliefs about the world, including the idea that cats are dangerous and that planes that fly overhead are just toys. They go to great lengths to control their children's sexuality, forbidding them from masturbating and exposing them to pornography in a misguided attempt to stunt their natural desires.
The parents also invent a son who they claim has been ostracized from the family due to his disobedience. His purported existence serves as a warning to the other children, demonstrating the severe consequences that can result from disobedience.
As the film progresses, the children begin to push back against their parents' control. The eldest daughter is allowed to temporarily leave the estate to take driving lessons, and she becomes enamored with her instructor. The younger brother begins to question the lies his parents have told him, and even attempts to rebel against them.
Dogtooth is a surreal and disturbing portrait of a dysfunctional family and the lengths to which parents will go to maintain control over their children. The film has been praised for its incisive commentary on the dangers of authoritarianism and the importance of personal freedom.
