Reminiscent of films such as Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2009), The Dog follows the descent into madness of a middle-class patriarch as he tries to protect his family from the uncertainties and violence of the outside world. When the family dog is discovered deliberately and gruesomely killed, the unnamed father (Tomasz Schuchardt, who appeared in last year’s Kinopolis title Doppelgänger. The Double) is horrified and bewildered not just by this apparently random act, but at the realisation that such terrors could threaten his wife (Klara Williams), daughter (Lila Maćkowiak), and son (Stefan Wójcik). He takes the measures of installing cameras, first to view the outside of the property, but soon to surveille every room inside too, and forces his family to surrender their privacy to increasing degrees. As the situation worsens, the children fight to escape their home. Schuchardt excels in this tense, claustrophobic allegory.

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of IFI Kinopolis Polish Film Festival.