My Life As a Dog [DVD]

My Life As A Dog is based around the life of Ingemar (played by Anton Glanzelius) a 12 year old boy, who along with his older brother have a tendency to cause or to get in trouble. When they become too much for their seriously ill mother to handle (who has been advised by the doctor to get some peace and quiet) Ingemar is sent to live with his relatives. Separated from his mother, his brother, his dog, and everything he has ever known, he thinks of himself similar to the first Dog in space who had no say in where he went. However he soon finds himself surrounded by caring relatives and welcoming classmates. Ingemar joins the boy's football team, starts to play boxing, and quickly makes friends. He also quickly develops a mutual friendship with a similarly aged girl called Sage (who is actually pretending to be boy so she can hang out with the boys and continue to play football.) She entrusts him with the knowledge of her true sex and seeks his help in keeping the fact hidden. All of which results in a heart warming, beautiful and unique picture.

While the film has varying themes and subplots throughout, careful editing and good directing has ensured that things neither become boring nor confusing. While there is a clear cut contrast between the darker moments and the more light hearted moments "My Life As A Dog" effectively manages to maintain the viewers interest at all times, and I personally couldn't turn away from the screen.

The acting from all is second to none and cannot be faulted in anyway possible. Most note worthy however are the two child actors Ingemar and Sage (Anton Glanzelius and Melinda Kinnaman respectively) who both manage to deliver exceptional performances. Taking into account the difficulty of a number of scenes throughout the film, and the complex range of emotions and situations demanded from them, they really are to be applauded. The characters have been brilliantly created and are all magnificent to encounter. Each one comes across on the screen as three dimensional and so realistic, at times it's like they've been plucked out of real life.

My Life As A Dog also has its fair share of humour that's been successfully integrated seamlessly into the film. One scene that comes to mind is during a football penalty. Some of the boys and Saga are lined up, and the boys are doing what comes naturally by protecting their groins with their hands, but Sage (who is still pretending to be a boy) is wrongly protecting her chest. It takes a nudge and a quick glace downwards from Ingemar to remind her. Not to forget several scenes where an old bedridden man calls upon Ingemar to read him catalogue descriptions of woman's underwear.

Regardless of how bad things get Ingemar tends to always compare himself to someone worse than himself, such as a man who was killed by a javelin while taking a shortcut. It's an interesting control method and helps the character cope with much heartache and abandonment.

My Life As A Dog is a film that I've been avoiding reviewing for some time now; simply because it is such a beautiful and flawless film I doubted that I could do it justice in writing. However I hope that I have successfully conveyed this to you and that you will now seriously consider both watching and buying a truly wonderful piece of cinema. I cannot over emphasize how good the film is.

On a final note I should point out that the film does contain a degree of nudity, both full frontal female used in an artistic setting, and several scenes involving Sage used in a coming of age and sexual awakening setting. As well as some crude discussion at the beginning of the film regarding what girls have "inside of them" and what boys 'should' do. I mention all of this owing to the films PG rating which some viewers and or parents may consider unsuitable so viewer caution is advised in that respect.

By the time the end credits rolled, "My Life as a Dog" had bounded on to my lap, presented it's paw, and gatecrashed my Top 10 Favourite Films of All Time. Up there with Midnight Cowboy, Stand by Me, Radio Days and The Lady from Shanghai. That Good. It is at least 10 years since I saw a film that connected with me this forcefully. It is Swedish and so subtitled - therefore viewing while Double Vision Drunk is not a practical option. But bear with it - it's worth the effort! Essentially a snapshot of a young boy's life, this film contains no explosions, very little violence, no sex and the budget appears to have been minimal. Who cares? It made me laugh out loud several times, literally made my spine tingle with the acuteness of it's observations on growing pains and, bearing in mind that I was watching it in company, provided at least 4 mortifying "Hold on!There's something in my eye" moments.

The story is set in Sweden in what appears to be the late 1950s or early 1960s. The central character is Ingmar, who is a boy of about 12 or 13 years of age. His mother is ill in some unspecified way, and seems to be deteriorating. We presume that the father is either dead or long gone. His brother is a sullen, unsympathetic character, although there is a hint that his demeanour is a defence mechanism in the face of what is an uncertain future. Ingmar dotes on a dog called Sikan. His mother tells him that he is to travel to a country village to visit his uncle and aunt, to allow her to recuperate. Ingmar is understandably perturbed by this development but has no option in the matter. So we have the heart wrenching themes of impending tragedy and childhood powerlessness established very early on in the film. A little bleak, to say the least.

However, his relatives are extremely welcoming people and his uncle,it transpires, has a wonderful childlike, surreal imagination and sense of humour. His description at the dinner table of how sausages are made is truly bizarre and provided the first spine tingling moment! The film unfolds in little episodes which delight with the way in which they depict adolescent awkwardness - the trials of attending a new school, making new friends and trying to fit in; the agonising awkwardness of the adolescent crush. The detail is wonderful. One scene depicting the obligatory tunelessness of a school recorder ensemble triggered vivid flashbacks to my own childhood. And that's the beauty of it. The themes are universal. I went to school in Nottingham and North Wales in the 1970s. A world away from Ingmar. And yet I identified with every theme explored in this film.

The film is littered with weird and wonderful characters - one local is something of a home grown Houdini , constantly setting up outlandish amateur feats of death defying physical prowess such as tightrope walking and swimming under ice. When word arrives that his impromptu shows are about to start, the whole village downs tools and congregates to gasp at his near-disastrous exploits, and this sense of community lends the film a nostalgic (but never syrupy)glow. Also the film is beautifully enhanced by Ingmar's intermittent voiceover. Always delivered against a still backdrop of a magical starlit sky, Ingmar muses (off camera and presumably as he is drifting off to sleep) on various events such as the fate of Laika, the first dog in space. These moments provide him and the viewer with little pockets of serenity amongst the turmoil of his "daylife". This adds to the sense of childlike wonder. Long before the credits rolled I knew that this was a film that i would re-visit again and again. It is achingly funny and heartbreaking by turns. Riddled with the frailty and absurdity of life. Hold on! I've just changed my mind. Make that Top 5!

An early movie from Lasse Hallström (director of countless ABBA videos, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", "The Cider House Rules", "Cocolat").

This Swedish language movie is one of my favourite movies of all time. The sad coming-of-age tale of Ingmar and his dying mother will fail to move even the hardest cynic.

The movie explores many interesting themes around loss and the loss of innocence, and it does it in a beautiful way that is both funny and heartbreaking at the same time.

The soliloquies where Ingmar reflects on the fate of Laika the space dog are particularly moving. Laika was a dog put into a sputnik by the Russians, and left to orbit the earth, eventually dying of either starvation or loneliness. Sure, it sounds bleak when Ingmar compares this to his own situation, but the movie features many explosively funny moments that will have you laughing for some time.

A very warm movie that you will carry with you indefinitely.

Highly, highly recommended.