My Life as a Dog (1985)

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.

Director:

Lasse Hallström

Writers:

Reidar Jönsson (novel), Lasse Hallström

Stars:

Anton Glanzelius, Tomas von Brömssen, Anki Lidén

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Ingemar lives with his brother and his terminally ill mother. He may have a rough time, but not as bad as Laika - the russian dog sent into space... He gets sent away to stay with relations for the summer. While there, he meets various strange characters, giving him experiences that will affect him for the rest of his life.

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Plot Keywords:

smaland sweden | terminally ill | reference to laika | 1950s | walking on train tracks | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

1 May 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Life as a Dog

Filming Locations:

Boda glassworks, Kalmar län, Sweden

Box Office

Gross USA:

$8,345,266

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmTeknik, Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only film that year to be Oscar nominated for Best Director, but not Best Picture.

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Goofs

Gunnar is supposed to be from Småland, yet he speaks with a strong Göteborg accent. Both of these are "Geatish dialects" (Götamål) however the dialect of Göteborg differs enough from that of Småland that it is jarring to those who are familiar with Swedish dialects.

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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 who got a new kidney in Boston ended up. He got his name in all the papers, but he died just the same. And what about Laika, the space dog? They put her in the Sputnik and sent her into space. They attached wires to her heart and brain to see how she felt. I don't think she felt too good. She spun around up there for five ...

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Connections

Features Double or Nothing (1952)

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Soundtracks

Twilight Time
Music and Lyrics composed by Buck Ram, Al Nevins, Morty Nevins, Artie Dunn(1944)
Swedish Lyrics by 'Bengt Sundström' ( "När livet börjar le") and Gösta Rybrant ( "När dagen dör")
Sung by unknown singer

User Reviews

An absolute delight

My Life As A Dog, now this is a total delight. The film follows the life of Ingemar in his 12th year as he has to cope with the slow death of his mother. The film takes place in 1959 in Sweden, and is just right in its atmosphere. Hallestrom works wonders with Anton Glanzelius as Ingemar, and he gives a marvelous performance that is truly touching and real. When his mother can no longer care for him and his older brother, Ingemar is sent off to his Uncle who lives in a small town in which it seems that all the residents work at the glass factory, and he soon becomes part of the town's fabric. His adventures are many,and includes his learning to box from the town tomboy who worries about her budding breasts, the chaperoning of the lovely town beauty as she poses nude for a sculptor, and his reading of a lingerie catalog to a dying old man. The film has been accused at least by someone on this list as being pornographic and prurient which is idiotic and stupid. This is a film about childhood and like most childhoods the film includes several scenes about children's growing awareness and curiosity about sex and their bodies and presents it in a real and sensitive way. A word of warning about the DVD transfer of the film. It stinks. Not only is it not letterboxed, but is full of flaws and looks no better than a video, but it is subtitled, and is still a joy to watch. One of the ten best films I saw in 1985.