On M List of Movie Reviews

(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)


Mitt liv som hund (1985)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 2/08, 2/15

MyDog
2/08: Remembering to have watched Mitt liv som hund (My Life as a Dog) in 1986 or so, I still don't like the film.

It has memorable moments, but the plot leaves me underwhelmed. The child pornography is the most glaring that's hard getting past. Because the movie was filmed in Sweden, everybody gets away with it because it's conveniently labeled as "foreign." There are other factors rendering it unlikeable.

One, I don't like the characters as I find them uninteresting despite their cuteness.

Two, instances of sexual perversion are prevalent throughout, and this is a children's film?

Three, it's all about the eccentricities. That's not good enough.

Four, the mother shows no love for her children; hence, it's a depressing movie to watch at times.

Five, I'm not sure what's interesting about the girl pretending to be a boy.

On the other hand, there are several positive aspects. One is the ease of transitions as I'm able to absorb the flow, allowing me to understand the characters. Moreover, I like the Swedish setting. Anton Glanzelius gives a fine performance. Because of what he did, Michael Jackson phoned him to see if he was interested. *shudder*

All in all, it's hard to overcome the child pornography in Mitt liv som hund.

2/15: Mitt liv som hund is one of the weirdest movies I've seen.

It combines too much of children and sex and goes far enough to expose them to pornography at such a young age. Hence, it becomes easy for the filmmakers to throw Anton Glanzelius and Melinda Kinnaman into the mix to deflect the attention away from what's essentially child pornography because they're cute-looking kids. It's no wonder why Michael Jackson was impressed with Anton Glanzelius so much that he wanted to meet him.

On the other hand, the performances are good, and the story makes more sense toward the end why the film is titled this way, leading to the English translation My Life as a Dog. Ingemar feels abandoned by the people around him and is treated like a pet wherever he goes because he's good-looking in the puppy sense.

All in all, Mitt liv som hund is cute at best and child pornography at worst.