My Life as a Dog

Wednesday 1 October at 7.30pm

Lasse Hallström | Sweden | 1985 | 101 mins | PG sexual references

This charming, bittersweet portrait of childhood from Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallström tells the story of a twelve-year-old boy sent to live in the country when his mother falls ill.

“This charming, bitter-sweet evocation of childhood is something of a minor gem. Set in the Sweden of the 1950s, it describes the 400 blows suffered by a resourceful, twitchy and energetic 12-year-old boy who is farmed out to country relatives when his antics and demands for attention prove too much for his ailing mother. Hallström nurtures from his young star (Anton Glanzelius) a performance of remarkable range and maturity, presenting a poignant picture of youthful tenacity struggling to come to terms with disappointments and events that may be beyond his comprehension, but which he manages to negotiate with his quirky, open-eyed optimism intact. Witty, touching and perceptive as he contrasts the rural village and its strange but generous-hearted eccentrics with the harsher realities of the city, Hallström makes it a seamless mix of tragedy and humour.”—Wally Hammond, Time Out