"Stream My Reels" is a weekly column that will feature one recommended streaming title from many different sources (Netflix, OnDemand, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc.).
The best thing about the growing availability and quantity of streaming titles is that audiences are no longer subject to the very narrow cinematic interests of the general public. Accessibility is the great equalizer and through it the true gems can be allowed to shine. So when I think of the vast library of films that streaming services provide I tend to gravitate towards recommending films that might have gone otherwise overlooked.
So I cannot think of a better place to start my new "Stream My Reels" column than with Dogtooth, a film that I adore and yet know has been criminally underseen by an audience that I know would love it. That's not to say that it didn't receive a large amount of praise and accolades, it was nominated for Best Foreign Feature at the 83rd Academy Awards.
The 2009 Greek drama, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, tells the story of a married couple who keep their children, who are now adults, locked in a remote housing facility, of their own make, so as to keep them ignorant of the world outside. The real drama begins when the mother and father are forced to invite a young woman into the facility to perform sexual intercourse with their son, whose sexual needs have begun to manifest themselves.
The less that you know going into Dogtooth the better, as it is truly fascinating to explore the brain-washed world of the facility and the rules by which the father has his children living. Dogtooth is a conversation piece and one whose imagery and story continues to delight with its weirdness and unconventionality. The heads of characters are often cropped out of the frame, or hidden in the background, as if to signify just how mindless these "children" have become as a result of their parents' many abuses.
It is a mockery of the perfect, nuclear family ideal, an examination of the power of media, and a depiction of the resilience of the human spirit.
"Dogtooth" is now available for instant streaming on Netflix Watch Instant and Hulu+.
Trailer:
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