My Life As A Dog DVD (1985)

My Life As A Dog

1985

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

from 5233 members

In 1959 Sweden, young Ingemar (Anton Glanzelius) lives with his dying mother and his nasty older brother. He survives all of life's knocks by comparing himself to those who are worse off--such as Laika, the little Russian space dog who was rocketed to his death and had nothing to say in the matter. Ingemar begins to identify with Laika more and more as his mother's health deteriorates, at times dropping to all fours and baying at the moon. When his mother is advised to get some peace and quiet away from her children, Ingemar is sent to live with his loveable uncle and aunt. For the first time, the boy is surrounded by relatives and classmates who pose no threat and who genuinely like him. He even has a sexual awakening. When his mother dies, he no longer rationalizes his misfortunes by comparing himself to those less fortunate; from now on, he can conjure up pleasant memories of his summer away from home to sustain him through the hard times. My Life as a Dog (Mitt Liv Som Hund) is based on the autobiographical novel by Reidar Jonsson.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

My Life As A Dog details

Format:	PG DVD
Starring:	Tomas Von Bromssen, Anki Liden, Anton Glanzelius
Director:	Lasse Hallstrom
Genres:	Drama - Romantic, World Cinema - French
Studio:	ARROW FILMS

DVD 1 disc

Name	Discs
My Life As A Dog	PG Feature

DVD Information

Run time:	1 hour 37 minutes
Rental release:	28 May 2001
Main languages:	Swedish
Subtitles:	English

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Most helpful review My Life As A Dog

One of my all time favourites...

By ThomasKus (147 reviews) from Gloucester , 29 Dec 2003

[Highly rated reviewer]

Before Lasse Hallstr?m went to Hollywood to make films like 'Cider House Rules', 'Chocolat' and 'The Shipping News' he made a number of Swedish films of which this 1985 children's is perhaps the best.

Ingemar (Anton Glanzelius) is a 12 year old boy living in 1959 Stockholm. He has to cope with the slow death of his mother from tuberculosis and a separation from his home and his beloved for the summer holidays. He stays with is his eccentric uncle in a small town where life centers around the glass factory and slowly learns to make friends with local people, especially Saga (Melinda Kinnaman).

This a coming of age movie with serious themes, careful character development and a story that is both moving, funny and melancholic at the same time and the refreshingly European style makes it more sincere and believable than any Hollywood adaptation ever could be.

Well, it's 18 years old, made it onto DVD and is still one of my favourites - what more can I say?
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Subtitle-free Swedish film

By a customer , 12 Dec 2012

sadly this film has no subtitles - so unless you are fluent Swedish there is little point in renting it!
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Too Long

By buffyrules (335 reviews) from southend on sea , 26 Nov 2012

A touching film with alot of sentiment and emotion. The child actors are amazing and rightly take centre stage. The film though was way too long and could have been 45 minutes and still got the messages across.
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Superb Swedish Film

By Cato (705 reviews) from Lydbury North , 19 Mar 2012

Super film about a boy and his family in 1950s Sweden. Very well directed and acted, especially by the 12 year old protagonist of the piece. Can't find any faults with a film like this, it ticks all the boxes for me. Amusing and poignant.
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Woof, woof

By Marv (80 reviews) from London , 27 Oct 2011

[Highly rated reviewer]

A charming film full of quirky characters and awkward but charming encounters. Poignant and funny throughout its march through Ingemar's growing up; the main character faces adversity, death and comes through it all smiling.
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Subtitles Arrrgggh

By a customer from Nottingham , 19 May 2010

I just wish it had some. We had two copies of this film neither had subtitles. It was a shame as we were looking forward to seeing the film. This is the only reason I have rated the film so low.
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