The Castle of Purity

Based on true events that occurred in Mexico City in 1959, The Castle of Purity recounts the story of a man who purports to protect his family members from the corrupt outside world by keeping them locked up at home for years manufacturing rat poison. Gabriel (Claudio Brook), the father of the family, is intelligent but driven to madness by the ideas contained in books. He traps his family in their elaborate home, where they work in his factory for rat poison and stay separated from the “evil nature” of the world outside. A spiritual forebear to Dogtooth, Yorgos Lanthimos’ berserk breakthrough feature, The Castle of Purity features an extraordinary, deeply disturbing performance by Brook, a leading figure in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema and a star in five films by Arturo Ripstein’s mentor, Luis Buñuel.