My Life as a Dog (1985)

Crappy film

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I didn't know what to expect with this story. Initially, it appears that young Ingemar (Anton Glanzelius) is merely a mischievous troublemaker, but inwardly, he harbors all the self doubt and insecurity of any young boy his age, compounded by a terminally ill mother and a brother with whom he has very little connection. However Ingemar has a way of disengaging from his troubles by comparing his life with outcomes experienced by those even more less fortunate. Despite a rebellious nature, his introspection allows him to foster a positive attitude which I found quite remarkable, especially while ruminating on the fate of Laika, the Russian space dog that died while on a mission for the Soviets. His thoughts are decidedly more existential than most kids of his age and serve as a coping mechanism for the eventual passing of his mother that the film leads us toward. The youngster portraying Ingemar seems a natural talent, though his filmography here on IMDb is quite limited. His sidekick Saga (Melinda Kinnaman), looking every bit the tomboy, affected a wonderful transformation so that by the end of the picture, it was visually jarring to see her looking pretty in a dress. Their coming of age story is portrayed sweetly with innocence, and though the film explores sexual themes with it's eccentric characters, it does so maturely with a young person's sense of wonder and amazement.

I first started to watch this movie with my little nephew (thinking because of the title, it was a child's movie). But then the scene took place with the soda bottle, and I quickly turned it off (not to allow my nephew to see it). Later I watched it by myself and loved it greatly! The first time I watched it, it was dubbed, and not as compelling to me as the subtitled version (just watched it). Throughout the movie, Ingemar, the little boy in the movie, compares the tragic circumstances in his own life to that of other peoples (and a dog), who have much more tragic circumstances, so not to be so sad about his own. This is especially compelling to me, as I do the same thing also!

This Swedish film offers a different kind of story and a strangely appealing one. Anton Glanzelius is good as the 12-year-old who not only stars in the movie but does a good job narrating it as well. When he finds himself in a tough situation, he always compares himself to something worse, such as a Soviet space dog and its unfortunate lot. The tomboyish-looking young girl who flirts with him, Melinda Kinnaman, is fun to watch, too. I wonder what she looks like now as an adult?For kids that young, I thought there was a little too much emphasis on sex, but mostly it's just natural curiosity of what the other sex looks like, and the intentions are innocent.Overall, it is a charming film with almost all (one exception: his older brother) likable people.

I am dumbfounded as to the reason this film caught flattering attention. I love foreign and art house, and I know why it caught my attention: I watch anything. But I actually stopped watching this tepid tragedy due to disinterest, waited a few days and re-played it, this time all the way through. Despite it's promising subject matter this script is far from adventurous; the boy learns nothing from his experiences and the townspeople are no more eccentric than your average Swede. Due to a miscast of the lead character (he is 12 years old, but the actor seems about 9) the sexual encounters he has are borderline creepy. There could have been a deeper, lost metaphor between the loss of his dog and his thoughts of his dying mother, but if so, it was either lost in translation or wound up on the cutting room floor.If you want an excellent film that tackles looming death or losing a loved one rent "Autumn Spring" or Hallstrom's better venture, "The Shipping News". Hmmm, Death. That reminds me. I was less bored watching the walking scene in "Gerry". Rent that too.