My Life as a Dog (1985) Mitt liv som hund (original title)

Director:

Lasse Hallström

Writers:

Reidar Jönsson (novel)
Lasse Hallström ...
(more)

Release Date:

24 March 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Det kunde ha varit värre. Jag har faktiskt haft tur. Om man jämför...

Plot:

A boy and his brother don't get along well. In order to let their ill mother rest, they're separated and sent each one with their relatives.

Plot Keywords:

Boy | Dog | Soccer | Small Town | Old Man

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Anton Glanzelius	...	Ingemar
Tomas von Brömssen	...	morbror Gunnar
Anki Lidén	...	Ingemars mamma (as Anki Liden)
Melinda Kinnaman	...	Saga
Kicki Rundgren	...	moster Ulla
Lennart Hjulström	...	konstnären
Ing-Marie Carlsson	...	Berit
Leif Ericson	...	farbror Sandberg (as Leif Ericsson)
Christina Carlwind	...	Fru sandberg
Ralph Carlsson	...	Harry
Viveca Dahlén	...	tvättande kvinna
Arnold Alfredsson	...	Mannes farfar (as Arnold Alfredson)
Fritz Elofsson	...	Mäster
Didrik Gustafsson	...	Arvidsson, dying old man befriended by Ingmar (as Didrik Gustavsson)
Jan-Philip Hollström	...	Manne, the boy with green hair
Vivi Johansson	...	tant Arvidsson
Per Ottosson	...	Tommy
Magnus Rask	...	Fransson, crazy old man always fixing his roof
Tony Rex	...	En pojke (as Tony Rix)
Manfred Serner	...	Erik, Ingmar's brother
Johanna Udéhn	...	Lilla Grodan
Susanna Wetterholm	...	Karin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nils-Olof Baehrentz	...	Host for gameshow 'Kvitt eller dubbelt' on TV (uncredited)
Olle Björklund	...	Himself (voice) (uncredited)
Lennart Hyland	...	Soccer referee on radio (archive footage) (uncredited)
Reidar Jönsson	...	Lilla grodan's father (uncredited)
Folke Olhagen	...	Himself (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Lasse Hallström

Writing credits
Reidar Jönsson		(novel)
Lasse Hallström		&
Reidar Jönsson		&
Brasse Brännström		&
Per Berglund

Produced by
Waldemar Bergendahl	....	producer

Original Music by
Björn Isfält

Cinematography by
Jörgen Persson

Film Editing by
Christer Furubrand
Susanne Linnman

Production Design by
Lasse Westfelt

Set Decoration by
Tove Hellbom
Pontus Lindblad

Costume Design by
Susanne Falck
Inger Pehrsson

Makeup Department
Agneta Jalmo	....	assistant makeup artist
Helena Olofsson-Carmback	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ann Collenberg	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Anita Tesler	....	assistant director

Art Department
Erik Höglund	....	art
Jimmy McGann	....	props
Rolf Persson	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Eddie Axberg	....	sound
Göran Carmback	....	sound
Berndt Frithiof	....	sound mixer
Christjan Persson	....	sound re-recordist
Willie Peterson-Berger	....	sound re-recordist (as Wille Peterson-Berger)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ulf Björck	....	electrician
Denise Grünstein	....	still photographer
Olof Johnson	....	assistant camera
Rolf Lindström	....	assistant camera
Ragnar Waaranperä	....	grip

Editorial Department
Sten Lindberg	....	color timer

Other crew
Eva Bagge	....	children caretaker
Anette Mandoki	....	continuity clerk
Erik Spangenberg	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• FilmTeknik
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Distributors

• Skouras Pictures (1987) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Paramount Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1985) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Cineglobe (1988) (Canada) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Flashstar Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Homescreen (2010) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Homescreen (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Starlight
• Umbrella Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (video) (VOD)

Other Companies

• Filmmixarna AB  mixing

Also Known As:

"Mitt liv som hund" - Sweden (original title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 (original rating) (rating surrendered) | USA:Unrated | West Germany:6 | Canada:PG | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:PG | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6

Filming Locations:

Boda glassworks, Kalmar län, Sweden

Company:

FilmTeknik

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Modern cars are visible during the car journey from the hospital.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ingemar:I should have told her everything. Mom loved stories like that. It's not so bad if you think about it. It could have been worse. Just think how that poor guy ended up who got a new kidney in Boston. He got his name in all the papers, but he died just the same...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Revenge of the Creature (#9.1)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Far, jag kan inte få upp min kokosnöt

Straight to the heart

I finally got to watch this film from beginning to end last night, after having caught glimpses of it on television. What is there in this film not to love? Beautiful Swedish landscapes in summer and winter. Attractive blond haired children or women. Hilarious eccentrics who spend their entire lives hammering nails into their roof shingles. Children on the cusp of puberty who engage in a completely unrepressed journey of sexual discovery without tilting the film into x-rating.

This is a true story based on the life of a real child whose mother was a famous Swedish writer, who had a terrible temper and also died of a disease of the lungs. As a special, there is a delightful interview with the director which is insightful on several levels. He talks about what it was like working with the child actors and how natural they were about their work. He talked about how he only realized how unconsciously hooked into the film he had become after seeing it several years after completion. The reason given was that he too was the child of a famous writer/mom who needed her space and privacy. He too had children and then was divorced. So, on many levels he found the film a cathartic experience AFTER he had watched it in a theater and watched how other people responded.

What is clear about this film is that it is charming without being cheap or smarmy. The unpretentious manner in which a touching and sad story is told is such a joyful antidote to the average Hollywood film. Unlike most American films which say too much, are too loud and spoon feed all thinking into the audience with the assumption that we are dumb, insensitive and unable to connect the dots, this drama delights with it's simplicity, allowing the drama to come to us in an unhurried telling. This film won several awards and most deserving it was. At the end we both cry and smile at the outcome. What is strengthening to know, is that the real life boy whose story this is, thrived. A really great film indeed.