When we’re very young we think all families are like ours, until we come into contact with the outside world and realise they’re not.

If the parents in Dogtooth have their way, their offspring will never come into contact with that world.

The only contact the off-spring have with life beyond the confines of the compound that is their home is with Christina who is brought in to satisfy the son’s sexual urges.

Complications arise when she succumbs to the oldest daughter’s growing curiosity to find out about the outside world.

This disturbing scenario is first presented with a subtle black humour (bordering on absurdity at times) that lulls the audience with the family’s “quirks”, making the shock of the first violent incident palpable.

The film is a metaphor for control in families, especially for the ways in which some parents try to control their “children” and the extremes this can take.

It is about how, some parents endeavour to have all of their children’s needs met within the family structure, as both a way of “protecting” them from the dangers of the world and holding on to them.

While not all families are like the one depicted in Dogtooth, the film does provoke the viewer into questioning where on that spectrum their own family is situated.

Yorgos Lanthimos, who directed and co-wrote the film with Efthimis Filippou, has created a truly provocative film.

It certainly provoked immediate responses among the group of friends I saw the film with. All Greek, but diverse in age, life experience, sexuality, some parents, others not.

The responses ranged from considering the film extreme to admiring the authentic and courageous depiction of family dynamics with the extremes in the film pointing to the kinds of issues played out in some Greek families.

This is not a movie whose “message” screams at you. Neither is it completely black from beginning to end.

It is a complex well-written work that is well-constructed, (apart from the first drawn out scene), well-acted and one that will have you reflecting on its many layers for some time after you’ve seen it.

It also seems to be a change in direction for Ellathitiko cinema. The humor is dark, there is an almost under-stated eroticism at times, not your usual Ellathitiko over-the-top sex-farce and the drama is real.

See this film; take your children, parents, siblings, partners/spouses, friends. But, be prepared to feel uncomfortable, perhaps even squirm and challenged.