A mischievous young boy with a Puckish smile, unusual table manners, and a sympathetic kinship to Laika the Soviet astro-dog is sent by his ailing mother to live with relatives in the country, where he discovers a town full of people even more eccentric than himself. Director Lasse Hallstrom's popular Swedish import offers a refreshing look at the mysteries and heartbreak of adolescence, with all the charm but none of the cloying sentiment of other, similar coming-of-age films. The rich humor is drawn around an affectionate portrait of small town life, closely observed; the pain comes from the realization that young Ingmar's bedridden mother has already passed away. The pace is often lazy and the film is overlong, but Hallstrom's understanding of human idiosyncrasies is reminiscent of a Jacques Tati comedy, choosing to laugh with instead of at his characters. It's a memorable look at love and mortality, as seen from the innocent eyes of a boy passing through that awkward age when he begins thinking like an adult while still unable to stop acting like a child.
Review of My Life as a Dog
