My Life as a Dog (The Criterion Collection)
by Lasse Hallström
List Price:
Our Price: $20.00
You Save: $19.95 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $17.55 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anita Ekström, Anton Glanzelius, Göran Stangertz, Lena Lindgren, Stig EngströmDirector: Lasse Hallström
Brand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: Jörgen Persson
Cinematographer: Lasse Hallström
Writer: Lasse Hallström
Producer: Waldemar Bergendahl
Writer: Brasse Brännström
Writer: Per Berglund
Writer: Reidar Jönsson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Swedish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
Published: 2003-03-01
DVD Release Date: 2003-03-11
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of My Life as a Dog (The Criterion Collection)
Movie Review: A film for good readers and those who love them
Summary: 5 Stars
This truly is a wonderful film that takes place in 1960. It is about a little boy who suffers a series of tragedies, most of all the death of his mother. As is typical in such situations, little Ingemar loved her but doesn't know how deeply he loved her until she was gone. It's a sad lesson, but only one of many he learns in the course of this story, wherein the drama is balanced quite nicely with humor and whimsy. Kinda like life, huh?
The film shows us the deeper wisdom Ingemar attains from his tragedies, but it also shares with us, with a uniquely Swedish touch, the beginnings of his innocent introduction to the idea of sex. Just on the beginning cusp of puberty, Ingemar has a young blonde girlfriend who isn't very interested in the subject but goes along with childlike play about "getting married"; an aggressive tomboy girlfriend who is more interested in the subject than he is, which makes him uncomfortable; a sick old man who has him read often from a lingerie catalog; his uncle, who is obsessed with breasts; and a beautiful blonde woman, a surrogate mother, who poses nude for a local sculptor. These parts of Ingemar's awakening are presented with beautiful sweetness and humor, with scarcely a bit of prurient titillation.
There are so many wonderful characters here that I'll not go into detail, as this review would drag on and on. Suffice to say that the stories told here do a wonderful job of making us familiar with multiple characters and a year in their world. I didn't notice any annoying loose ends dangling, nor any false notes in the story or its execution. The level of acting here is terrific, a testament to Hallstrom's direction, where only a few of the non-speaking childrens' roles carry any hint of amateurishness. There is some nudity and PG language, so take that into advisement; bottom line, even though the film is mostly full of children, it's not a kid's film. Aside from the nudity (which would certainly be more titillating to pubescent boys than adults), the story is about coming of age, told with a nostalgia only grasped by adults.
I was going to comment on the fact that the "dog" title seems ironic with the director named Lasse, but perhaps it's enough to point that out. Somehow the mild humor seems compatible with this lovely little film. Hallstrom is also known for the nearly perfect "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and, unfortunately, the superficially pretty but confused and predictable "Chocolat."
"My Life As a Dog" is a Swedish film with subtitles. The subtitles seem quite thorough, whereas some foreign language films (Roman Polanski's "Knife In the Water," for example) suffer through inadequate subtitles where much is said and little is translated. In this film it's essential to read the subtitles quickly, as they tend to zip past because much is said. Just a note in case you struggle with this aspect of such a film; unfortunately only the Swedish soundtrack is included here, no dubbing into English. I'm generally not much on foreign language films; for years the only such film among my favorites was "Das Boot," until I discovered "Salaam Bombay!" and this gem. It's worth the extra work for sure.
Summary of My Life as a Dog (The Criterion Collection)
MY LIFE AS A DOG - DVD MovieSimultaneously elegiac and raw, this uneven--but unforgettable--tearjerker tells the story of Ingemar, a 12-year-old working-class Swedish boy sent to live with his childless aunt and uncle in a country village when his mother falls ill. Beginning with several representations of the most savage, unsentimental domestic intensity imaginable (interplay between a sick parent and loving child has never looked anywhere near as explosive), My Life as a Dog wisely doesn't attempt to maintain that level of danger; rather, the change in locale to rural Sweden is accompanied by a slackening of pace and a whimsical breeziness. Nevertheless, the tragic condition of Ingemar's mother (and later, the indeterminate fate of Sickan, his beloved dog, consigned to a kennel) hovers over the narrative with a gripping portentousness. At times, director Lasse Hallström misplaces the rhythm, and the film threatens to degenerate into a series of rustic vignettes; luckily, Ingemar's relationship with Gunnar, the jocular yet somewhat sinister uncle who essentially adopts him, carries a fascinating charge. In Swedish, with subtitles. This was later rewritten, whether intentionally or not, by Spike Lee, who changed the gender of the child, set the story in New York City, added a 1970s soul soundtrack, and called it Crooklyn. --Miles Bethany
Similar DVD Movies
Cinema ParadisoLGF; Release date: 2011-04-15; DVD
Best price: $8.42
Price in other shops:
Essential Art: Forbidden GamesImage Entertainment; Release date: 2009-06-16; DVD
Best price: $9.65
Price in other shops:
East of Eden (Two-Disc Special Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2005-05-31; DVD
Best price: $5.24
Price in other shops:
As It Is in HeavenKino Video; Release date: 2010-02-02; DVD
Best price: $16.01
Price in other shops:
Queen to PlayZEI; Release date: 2011-08-16; DVD
Best price: $15.94
Price in other shops:
Secret Sunshine (Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2011-08-23; DVD
Best price: $15.98
Price in other shops:
Hope and GloryMILES,SARAH; Release date: 2001-06-05; Published: 2001; DVD
Best price: $6.25
Price in other shops:
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (Special Collector's Edition)Paramount; Release date: 2006-06-20; DVD
Best price: $3.37
Price in other shops:
Pelle the ConquerorTrinity; Release date: 2006-10-24; DVD
Best price: $8.65
Price in other shops:
![My Life as a Dog (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/My-Life-as-a-Dog-The-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray-B0056ANHE0-X.jpg)
My Life as a Dog (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]IMG; Release date: 2011-09-13; Blu-ray
Best price: $24.99
Price in other shops: