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.

---

Plot Keywords:

walking on train tracks | nude model | peeping tom | smaland sweden | terminally ill | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Drama | Comedy

---

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

Michael Jackson loved this movie. He took contact with the protagonist (Anton Glanzelius) and took him to an amusement park in Sweden to get to know him. Glanzelius also got to visit Michael in America.

---

Goofs

Sound editing: When Ingemar's walking next to the river kicking metal drums, two of the drums are very different in appearance, but give off exactly the same sound.

---

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 ...

---

Connections

Referenced in (500) Days of Summer (2009)

---

Soundtracks

Far, jag kan inte få upp min kokosnöt
(original song title "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts")
Written by Fred Heatherton (joint pseudonym of Elton Box, Desmond Cox and Irwin Dash)
Lyrics by Povel Ramel
Performed by Povel Ramel

User Reviews

Bittersweet Charmer

This odd little film relates the story of Ingemar, a boy who learns about life, death, loss, and practically everything else. The boy is a charming little fellow, and all the odd people he meets are also charming in their own ways.

Because his mother is dying and his father is off in some other part of the world, he and his brother are split up. Ingemar goes to live with relatives in another town. There he must learn the meaning of the strange things that happen in life. He develops a simple but profound philosophy: no matter what happens to him, "It could have been worse." He even has to deal with the thought that he was not wanted by his parents. He distances himself from the pain in his life by comparing his predicaments to things he has heard about in the great, strange world beyond the little town where he lives.

This is an amusing, quaint film that shows us that life goes on no matter how difficult and hurtful it seems. Not only that, we can smile like the little boy in the face of all adversity.