- Film Review
- Reviewed By Adam Smith
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4 out of 5
This enigmatic little Greek nightmare about a dysfunctional family is pitched halfway between horror and satire. Three "children" (though they look to be in their early 20s) live their lives holed up in an expansive villa, where they are constantly fed misinformation by their parents - the word for saltcellar is "telephone" and cats are ravening beasts from outside who will devour them. They remain in a state of innocence, ignorance and fear until a woman brought into the home by "Father" (no names are used) in order to provide sex for "Son" upsets the weird dynamic. Reminiscent of the work of Michael Haneke and Lars von Trier, director Yorgos Lanthimos's film is disquieting, provocative and either frustratingly ambiguous or richly allegorical depending on your point of view. And because of a couple of extremely graphic but entirely unerotic sex scenes and a few moments of explosive violence, it's recommended for those with a reasonably strong constitution.
Plot Summary
Drama starring Christos Stergioglou. In modern-day Greece, a husband and wife have raised their children in total isolation, telling them lies about the outside world and arresting their development. But when a stranger is brought into their hermetic environment, the siblings' curiosity threatens to get the better of them.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Father
- Christos Stergioglou
- Mother
- Michelle Valley
- Older daughter
- Aggeliki Papoulia
- Son
- Christos Passalis
- Younger daughter
- Mary Tsoni
- Christina
- Anna Kalaitzidou
Crew
- Director
- Yorgos Lanthimos
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