HELEN VINOGRADOV

DOGS DON'T WEAR PANTS
Starring Pekka Strang, Krista Kosonen, Ilona Huhta, Jani Volanen, Oona Airola, Iiris Anttila, Ester Geislerová, Ellen Karppo, Armands Reinis and Samuel Shipway. Directed by Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää.

The idyllic married life of Juha is torn asunder as he naps; in a dreamlike prologue, his wife drowns at their lakeside home while their small daughter Elli watches on. In trying to rescue his tangled wife, he has a moment of spiritual connection with her soul, nearly drowning himself in the act. Ten years later, Juha is still consumed by grief; he finds comfort in his lonely daily routine, which includes his own form of self-abuse using his late wife’s underwear and perfume, while barely registering the existence of teenage Elli.

After accidentally wondering into a backroom BDSM venue while his daughter is getting tattooed in the front parlour, Juha is choked into semi-consciousness by parlour mistress Mona, who is affronted by his intrusion into her domain. Her attack energises his senses; a subsequent visit, in which he is humiliated and stripped bare (hence the title), leads to consensual asphysixiation, an act that triggers in him the moment when he last saw his wife’s life force. Juha grows dependent upon Mona’s skills, while failing to register the bond that his willingness for pain and degradation is generating in her.

REVIEWS Dogs Don't Wear Pants - Dangerous BDSM and mismanaged (would-be) great characters