Thanks for the memories!

Strong and Moving!

One of my all time favorites.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

At the end of the movie one finds out who was the dog whose life is being told. It isn't Laika sent in space at the onset of the movie, but the little boy who identifies with his dog who was put to sleep while he was away at his uncle's place. The little boys is from a modest background, grows up like the rest of the town, and faces problems many faced in those years. In his case his mom was sick and his dad was never home (had he ever been home?). At the uncle's place the boy slowly discovers other facets of the world, never losing his grace. Not much of a plot really. When I first heard about it, I thought this movie was going to suck big times, but my girlfriend of the time insisted to go see it. She was right. It isn't the plot, but the events, the pace, the closeness to real life, the innocence of the early years, ... all these things add up to an amazing experience of almost going again through childhood. I am giving it a 9 because, theoretically, there could be better movies out there, although it's gonna be tough to beat this one.

A mischievous young boy with a Puckish smile, unusual table manners, and a sympathetic kinship to Laika the Soviet astro-dog is sent by his ailing mother to live with relatives in the country, where he discovers a town full of people even more eccentric than himself. Director Lasse Hallstrom's popular Swedish import offers a refreshing look at the mysteries and heartbreak of adolescence, with all the charm but none of the cloying sentiment of other, similar coming-of-age films. The rich humor is drawn around an affectionate portrait of small town life, closely observed; the pain comes from the realization that young Ingmar's bedridden mother has already passed away. The pace is often lazy and the film is overlong, but Hallstrom's understanding of human idiosyncrasies is reminiscent of a Jacques Tati comedy, choosing to laugh with instead of at his characters. It's a memorable look at love and mortality, as seen from the innocent eyes of a boy passing through that awkward age when he begins thinking like an adult while still unable to stop acting like a child.

A young 11-year-old boy discovers life, death and girls. My Life as a Dog really is as simple as that. Nothing else really happens, but that's what makes it so magical. Ingemar (Anton Glanzelius) leads a simple but complex life where his mother dies young and he is consequently sent to live with his uncle. At first I thought this would be depressing, but this was not the case. I thought his uncle would abuse him; the other kids wouldn't like him etc. I was pleasantly surprised to see Ingemar loved by all.Ingemar meets a girl on the football pitch, gets beaten by the same girl at boxing and falls through a window trying to spy on a naked women posing for a sculpture. He reads the text from an underwear section in a mail order catalogue to his uncles Dad and learns the art of glass blowing. It's all very simple and silly, but completely enjoyable. There are a few uncomfortable moments, which could be misconstrued as inciting paedophilia, but it's just what kids do when growing up. "You show me yours and I'll show you mine" is all part of growing up, it happens to us all. Whether it should be shown on screen is another thing. I found it uncomfortable to watch but I could relate to it, hence making it compelling. This is not a criticism…it's credit. Anton Glanzelius gives a wonderful performance as 11-year-old Ingemar, as do the rest of the cast. The scenery, when it's not snowing, is green and wonderful to look at. The film barely scrapes the 90minute mark, which is just enough. Anymore and it would have been boring. You can only show so much of the Swedish countryside. Lasse Hallstrom's The Shipping News has a similar simple plot, but was boring because it was too long at 111 minutes. 90 minutes is perfect for something so simple.

I'm not a great lover of subtitled films. The highest credit I can give this, is that within 5 minutes, I'd forgotten that they were even there. You cannot take your eyes of this movie. Beautifully filmed with characters who are so real that at times, you feel like you're intruding. I felt so desperately sad for this young lad who nobody seemed to want. He was clearly deeply affected by his mothers illness and was in desperate need of some kind of counselling. Instead, he was sent to live with a relative in a small town. The people there all seemed wrapped up in their little Worlds To an outsider, they all seemed a bit dysfunctional. Sex rears it head at seemingly every turn. Whether it was the dying man wanting his underwear catalogue read to him, the factory worker admiring his co-workers 'melons', the growth of teenage breasts, the artist sculpting the deeply inappropriate image of a woman and her newborn baby...Well, everyone was at it. Does everyone really think and act like this?..Well, probably more than most people think. I really didn't want this movie to end and actually felt at the conclusion, that I would miss seeing the characters. Don't be put off by the subtitles, you won't notice them!