My Life as a Dog (1985)

Directed by Lasse Hallström.
Starring Anton Glanzelius and Tomas von Brömssen.

In a Nutshell: A troublesome boy is sent to live with relatives during his mother’s illness.

It is possible that the titular dog is Laika, sent into space by the Russians. The launch was a fantastic achievement, but only for the Russians. The dog starved in isolation. Or it could be the pet of twelve-year old Ingemar (Anton Glanzelius), a kind-hearted pet, prone to uncontrollable acts of mischief. Ingemar likens himself more to the former, but contents that his life is never as a bad as Laika’s. Though it is not without its share of turmoil, Ingemar continually tries to keep perspective, creating an enormous emotional burden for such a young boy. Ingemar’s mother is slowly dying of tuberculosis, and has just enough energy to loudly scold Ingemar and his brother. One too many disobedient acts results in Ingemar getting sent off to live with his maternal aunt and uncle, both entrenched in adolescence. Indeed their whole town is of a youthful air, finding Ingemar just on the edge of puberty.

Ingemar finds equal doses of love and loss at his new home, careful not to reveal his guilt over his mother’s illness. Director Lasse Hallström shows a light touch in balancing Ingemar’s joys, confusions, hopes and fears without sinking into saccharine. He gives his characters (many of them small-town eccentrics) an understated quality that welcomes sincere human comedy. Hallström’s later career has been marked by plodding Oscar-baiting melodrama. My Life as a Dog finds truer happiness and sorrow in smaller moments, moments that feel so much bigger when we were twelve. It may not make many daring departures to the “coming-of-age” standard, but rarely has the breadth of childhood turbulence been handled so gracefully. Nor have its hardships been so deeply felt by its protagonist. Ingemar muses how despite his pain, he is fortunate to live the life given to him. Hopefully we can all be that lucky.