Copyright (c) Pedro Sena 1994
FILM TITLE: MY LIFE AS A DOG DIRECTOR: LASSE HALLSTROM COUNTRY: SWEDEN 1987 CINEMATOGRAPHY: JORGEN PERSSON MUSIC: Bjorn Isfalt CAST: Anton Glavelius, Tomas Von Bromssen, Anki Liden, Melinda Kinnaman, Richi Rundgren SUPER FEATURES: Very nice kid's point of view.
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Growing up is not easy.... of fun, for Ingmar and his older brother. The mother is sick and won't make it for very long so he is shuffled off to his uncle's.... where his mis-adventures continue.
And the only friend he has made in during these tough years for him are another young girl he has met while at his uncle's. Their way of meeting is with a pair of gloves and a little boxing. It seems to be the rage at the time in the fifties, when these kids are growing up.
The children are having a hard time with their mother, whose sickness the family is trying to hide. And the fact that for some reason, the older children are always picking on the young Ingmar, and their noise and emotional brouhaha's are something that the ill mother can no longer deal with, or survive. She needs the quiet space.
And the young Ingmar is forced to come to grips with the other kids around him. He is always considered a failure and is picked on by his elders. He seems to crave a little respect and care, if not understanding. And he finds it, in another young girl that also has a similar chip on her shoulder. She also has a mean pair of fists. But their fights, while they seem to be the fiercest of them all, seem to always end up in each other's arms, hugging and appreciating each other.
Ahhh, pre-teen days look better for Ingmar. The young girl has become his best friend, and she is someone he can hug, and lay his head down on, since his mother is now almost dead, and he has finally accepted it.
A loving film, that very much displays a lifestyle that appears to be sad and hopeless for many children, boxing gives this film an inch of freedom, and a way to make friends, in a life style that has the makings for a boring, no meaning lifestyle at all. It is a kid's film, in the sense that it is all about Ingmar's plight and story, but by doing so, it also adds a larger picture.... in an isolated country place, there is almost nothing for these children to get inspired by, except in this case, a pair of gloves, for which one famous night a Swedish boxers broke through and showed the world that dreams can come true.
Very nice film. A treat for kids.
4 GIBLOONS out of 5
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