It could have been worse. I've actually been lucky. If you compare...
Overview
A boy, obsessed with comparing himself with those less fortunate, experiences a different life at the home of his aunt and uncle in 1959 Sweden.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.3/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.89/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: 82
TMDB: 7.2/10
Director
Lasse Hallström
Production
SF Studios, FilmTeknik
Cast
Anton Glanzelius, Tomas von Brömssen, Anki Lidén, Melinda Kinnaman, Kicki Rundgren, Lennart Hjulström, Ing-Marie Carlsson, Leif Ericson, Christina Carlwind, Ralph Carlsson, Viveca Dahlén, Johan Widerberg, Manfred Serner, Jan-Philip Hollström, Arnold Alfredsson, Fritz Elofsson, Didrik Gustafsson, Per Ottosson, Magnus Rask
Where to watch
Max
Curator Review
Verdict
A tender, funny, and quietly devastating coming-of-age film that balances childhood mischief with real grief and emotional instability. Its empathy for an awkward, imaginative boy and its lived-in rural setting make it a standout for viewers who like bittersweet human stories.
Best for
coming-of-age drama fans
viewers who like bittersweet humor
fans of European art-house cinema
people drawn to child-centered performances
audiences who appreciate gentle melancholy
Skip if
you want a fast-paced plot
you dislike stories about illness and loss
you prefer broad comedy over understated humor
you need a neatly resolved ending
Overview
My Life as a Dog is one of those rare coming-of-age films that feels both delicate and emotionally sturdy. It understands how children use imagination to survive pain, and it treats Ingemar’s misbehavior, loneliness, and tenderness with real compassion rather than judgment.
Worth noting
What makes it linger is the tonal balance: the film is often very funny, but the humor never cancels out the sadness underneath it. The rural Swedish setting, the episodic structure, and Anton Glanzelius’s remarkably natural performance give it the feeling of a memory you can almost touch.
Bottom line
It’s a film about loss, resilience, and the strange ways kids make sense of adult suffering. If you like your coming-of-age stories bittersweet rather than sentimental, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Iman Vellani (4.5★) · 619 likes
This was my high school drama teacher’s favourite film, and when I watched to impress him, I told him that I, too, loved this film.
If I’m being frank, however, ain’t NO way fake ass 14 year old me understood why this was so great soooooo upon revisiting 8 years later, here are my findings:
- Movie makes for affordable contraception. - Movie delivers some of the most innocent and empathetic performances I’ve seen in a while. - Movie somehow encourages… more
Sean Baker · 245 likes
A revisit after three decades that felt like a first time watch. I found it much funnier than I remember. It's interesting how the events and situations become more amusing as Ingemar's life becomes more unstable.
Incredible child performance by Anton Glanzelius
Arrow Academy Blu-ray:
- Come On Then! (Kom igen, nu'rå!), a 1981 TV film by Hallström about a 35-year-old footballer (played by Swedish pop star Robert Broberg) looking back over his life- Original theatrical trailer- Reversible… more
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (4★) · 174 likes
ON THE ROAD: SWEDEN - LAND OF THE TALL, THE SOUNDS, IKEA, ABBA & THE ICE HOTEL
The 80s and 90s were filled with these very offbeat yet interesting coming-of-age stories. Not that they have fully disappeared, but they are never at the same quantity or level as they used to be.
On this Academy Award-nominated film (Best Director/Adapted Screenplay), we follow the life of a very colorful, strange kid with an affinity for his dog who’s sent to live with… more
Marcy Webb (4.5★) · 130 likes
Floyd is obviously a trans boy and Ingemar is extremely gay for him and nobody can convince me otherwise
upik (4★) · 123 likes
simple coming of age but it really hits. it’s sad, but told in a light, sometimes funny way. kinda shows life can be messy, but you just deal with it your own way.