Jul 29, 2010
SFFILM
Dogtooth (Kynodontas, Greece 2009), Yorgos Lanthimos’s strangely fascinating story of three siblings stuck in an alternative universe dictated by their parents’ cruel whimsies, opens Friday, September 3 on SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas.
The matriarch and patriarch of an upper-class Greek family have taught their three nameless, college-age offspring an alternate language to protect a larger deception: that the world outside the family’s high-walled home is so dangerous that the “kids” won’t be mature enough to explore it until one of their canine teeth falls out. The clueless guinea pigs while away their days playing mostly innocent, if bizarre, games of endurance and submission, often monitored by their father, who offers sparkly stickers as prizes for jobs well done-and enforces the boundaries of the closed state with violence. But this dictator’s efforts are no match for the trifecta of threats to his fascist regime: free-market trading, sex and American popular culture. Director Yorgos Lanthimos lays out the rules largely through action rather than exposition, which allows Dogtooth to play as a richly satisfying, blackly comic mystery in spite of its delayed, horror-sourced housebreak plot. This pastel-colored portrait of disaster capitalism was made long before the Greek economic crisis, and that’s something of a relief: Straight parable could never feel as urgent and unexpectedly moving as the eldest daughter’s desperate drive to escape into Hollywood movies-not just by watching them, but by pretending to live them. -Karina Longworth, Village Voice
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou. Photographed by Thimios Bakatakis. With Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Aggeliki Papoulia. 96 min. In Greek with English subtitles. Distributed by Kino Lorber.
For screeners and interviews contact hilary@sffs.org
For photos and press materials visit: http://www.sffs.org/pressdownloads
At the Sundance Kabuki all seats are reserved and an amenities fee is in effect for most shows. Tickets are available through the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas box office, at kiosks in the lobby and online at sundancecinemas.com/kabuki with print-at-home capability. San Francisco Film Society members receive discounted admission only to SFFS Screen programs and only at the box office, not online or at the lobby kiosks.
Also coming to SFFS Screen
July 30: Alamar Pedro González-Rubio’s lovingly made story of the growing bond between a father and son who are spending a summer together on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, demonstrates exquisite poetry and sophisticated craft.
August 6: Making Plans for Lena In Christophe Honoré’s latest work a family weekend in the Breton countryside spirals out of control for recent divorcée Lena (Chiara Mastroianni) when her mother invites her ex over without her knowledge in this New Wave-inspired look at a woman on the verge.
August 13: Vengeance Johnnie To’s genre-busting gem populated by a hit man turned chef, family men moonlighting as assassins and earnestly official women detectives stars Johnny Hallyday, the iconic French crooner who exudes cool.
August 20: Army of Crime Robert Guédiguian’s lush historical drama focuses on a largely overlooked cell of French Resistance fighters-refugees of the antifascist fight throughout Europe, mostly Jews and communists-led by French Armenian poet Missak Manouchian (Simon Abkarian) and his wife Mélinée (Virginie Ledoyen).
August 27: The Two Escobars Through the parallel life stories of infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar and star soccer defender Andrés Escobar, Jeff and Michael Zimbalist’s documentary reveals the shocking connections between crime and sport during the glory years of Colombian soccer.
September 10: Change of Plans Danièle Thompson’s light comedy begins as a group of friends and acquaintances gather for dinner, and the atmosphere couldn’t be friendlier. Slowly the masks of civility drop and suspicions, jealousies and fears emerge.
For full, complete and up-to-date information on all SFFS Screen programming, including buying tickets, visit sffs.org. Information and tickets are also available at sundancecinemas.com.
The San Francisco Film Society is a nonprofit arts and education organization dedicated to celebrating film and the moving image.
SFFS Screen, the innovative exhibition partnership with Sundance Cinemas, enables the Film Society to present its acclaimed film programs and events at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas year-round on a daily basis.