Dogs Don’t Wear Pants

Seven years after his wife's drowning, Juha is left emotionally distant as he raises his teenage daughter Elli alone. He struggles with grief, often immersing himself in memories by wearing her dress and perfume, indicating unresolved feelings. He remains somewhat disconnected from his life and family, haunted by the past.

Juha unexpectedly meets Mona, a dominatrix, which introduces him to the world of BDSM. During their first session, Mona asphyxiates him, causing him to hallucinate being underwater with his wife. She provides safety measures, like a ball to prevent him from losing consciousness, signaling a shift in his emotional state.

Juha furiously smashes a door when his hospital pass card fails, showing his increasing emotional instability. He chooses to skip his daughter's concert to see Mona instead, highlighting his retreat from family responsibilities and his obsession with Mona and their BDSM encounters.

At the hospital, Juha's colleagues become concerned about his mental health and recommend a psychological evaluation. During this, Juha demonstrates self-destructive behavior by tearing off his own damaged thumbnail, indicating deep emotional turmoil.

Juha relentlessly tries to reach Mona but faces rejection. He stalks her, mistakenly confronts a man, and later convinces his daughter's music teacher to wear his wife's perfume and engage in BDSM, revealing his obsessive desire for connection and obsession with his wife’s memory.

Juha follows Mona to her flat, insisting she strangle him as part of their BDSM dynamic. She agrees, and during their session, she pulls out his tooth with pliers after resisting at first. The intense scene culminates with her realizing he intends to kill himself, leading her to free him and break down in tears.

After Mona frees him and sobs, Juha comforts her before unexpectedly slapping her. Mona then isolates herself, returning with his wife's dress, only to find Juha has left, indicating the deep emotional rupture and his ongoing struggle with his grief and mental health.

Juha finds his daughter Elli in a park, smoking and disinterested. He attempts to mend their strained relationship by inviting her to the Natural History Museum, echoing past memories. Elli then leaves abruptly on her boyfriend's moped, highlighting ongoing emotional distance.

Juha learns that his psychological assessment came back clear, but he admits to a colleague that he lied about his mental state. This reveals his ongoing internal conflict and reluctance to seek help or admit vulnerability.

Juha visits a BDSM club, dressed in fetish gear, and enjoys dancing and socializing. His interaction with Mona resumes when she enters, and he smiles at her, signifying a complex mix of desire, escapism, and unresolved emotional connections.