Ma vie de chien

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.

"Mit liv sum hund" directed by talented director Lasse Hallström is one of the reasons why I like Scandinavian movies so much. They always have this "real" feeling without ever overdoing things like in Hollywood movies often is the case.

The story is very simple and mainly because of that it all feels very real and heartwarming. Once you have started watching this movie you can't keep your eyes of it. It's a movie you'll easily fall in love with. The movie is filled with some great, emotional and heartwarming moments that are never exaggerated or overused in any kind of way.

There are some great characters, both adults and kids. I think that is the main reason why this movie is great to watch for adults as well as children. The characters are easy to relate with thanks to the "real" feeling of the movie.

A movie that'll not easily forget.

8/10

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"MY LIFE AS A DOG" is certainly my best film. Especially when I feel somehow composed, this movie always let me notice that such an uneasiness in my heart has been washed by an extremely tender way. Instead of the eradicated dirtiness, unconsciously I get full of warm affection and mildness. About each occurrences in this movie, however, I cannot describe which scene is the most impressive, the sad, or comical, because I think there is no exactly deliberate scene but just a boy's thought and life with his mother, brother, pet dog, other relative, friends, and other villagers.

The very basic natural humanity is vividly presented through those people. For example the boy, who is the main character, is normally of sensibilities and admirable as a 12 years old child. He is sometimes mischief and shows curiosity about girls, other time weeps missing his mom and his pet dog. While the boy seems to be about to get the sadness over and be going to grow mentally as well in the village. Because the people, to say the least, love to share something amusing with others.

Therefore I say that the heartwarming wonderfulness produced by this movie lies in the whole elements. Any fragment cannot be separated even bright sun ray particle in a car, roof fixing noise, and so on. Every details have a reason for being in the movie actually, so feeling moved comes slowly and deeply, top that off, gently. To get a mild temper, this is one of superb movies. For me, this is the best.

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.

I just came across this coming of age movie about a boy's childhood in 1950s Sweden. I expected to change the channel but soon got caught up in the wonderful simplicity of the tale, made especially memorable by the lead performance of the boy Anton whose expressive face mirrors all of his impish thoughts.

As charming as a film of this sort can be, despite the episodic nature of the telling. All of the performances are right on target and the director has woven a tapestry of individual scenes that sparkle with truth and innocence. Makes you examine your own childhood feelings of loneliness or rejection--and the explorations that all of us are subject to.

By all means, a film worth watching. I hope to see it again--and this time from the very beginning. I missed some of the film and would like to see the complete work.