just watch it!

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I didn't know what to expect with this story. Initially, it appears that young Ingemar (Anton Glanzelius) is merely a mischievous troublemaker, but inwardly, he harbors all the self doubt and insecurity of any young boy his age, compounded by a terminally ill mother and a brother with whom he has very little connection. However Ingemar has a way of disengaging from his troubles by comparing his life with outcomes experienced by those even more less fortunate. Despite a rebellious nature, his introspection allows him to foster a positive attitude which I found quite remarkable, especially while ruminating on the fate of Laika, the Russian space dog that died while on a mission for the Soviets. His thoughts are decidedly more existential than most kids of his age and serve as a coping mechanism for the eventual passing of his mother that the film leads us toward. The youngster portraying Ingemar seems a natural talent, though his filmography here on IMDb is quite limited. His sidekick Saga (Melinda Kinnaman), looking every bit the tomboy, affected a wonderful transformation so that by the end of the picture, it was visually jarring to see her looking pretty in a dress. Their coming of age story is portrayed sweetly with innocence, and though the film explores sexual themes with it's eccentric characters, it does so maturely with a young person's sense of wonder and amazement.

I first started to watch this movie with my little nephew (thinking because of the title, it was a child's movie). But then the scene took place with the soda bottle, and I quickly turned it off (not to allow my nephew to see it). Later I watched it by myself and loved it greatly! The first time I watched it, it was dubbed, and not as compelling to me as the subtitled version (just watched it). Throughout the movie, Ingemar, the little boy in the movie, compares the tragic circumstances in his own life to that of other peoples (and a dog), who have much more tragic circumstances, so not to be so sad about his own. This is especially compelling to me, as I do the same thing also!

There are times (some of them noted here on the IMDb) that a film hits me like a solid left hook to the solar plexus (a feeling, I now inform you, with which I am intimately acquainted). MY LIFE AS A DOG packs a wallop. For me, it was like seeing parts of my own life reflected on frames of film. (Not for the first time, as noted.) Little Ingemar's quiet dignity, his perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, rings all too true. (One of the brighter moments, ironically, is the communal reaction to the radio broadcast of Ingemar Johannson's win over heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson in their first fight- ironic because it was a one-time-only moment of triumph and because it was, for all the fanfare, merely one man beating the daylights out of another; no great feat, in effect, but an everyday occurrence elevated to national focus.)

After I had seen "The Cider House Rules" and "Chocolat", I took some interest in Swedish-born director Lasse Hallstrom, and so I decided to check out one of his movies from his native country. "Mitt liv som hund" ("My Life as a Dog" in English) really impressed me. This story of abandoned boy Ingemar hits the perfect balance between sentimental and gritty, with one scene that was probably there for a little comic relief (you'll know what I mean if you see the movie). Probably the most effective scene is when Ingemar talks about Laika, the Soviet space-dog. Just as happened to Laika, Ingemar didn't want to have to go through this, it was done to him. And both Laika and Ingemar got left in limbo. Both were victims of cold, abstract forces.Anyway, this is definitely one that I recommend. In my opinion, Hallstrom's American movie most like this one was "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", about a destitute family in Iowa. Both are worth seeing.