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| Anton
Glazelius, Tomas von Brömssen, Anki Lidén, Melinda Kinnaman |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Ingemar (Anton Glazelius):
It really bothers me when I think of that poor dog Laika. Terrible,
sending a dog up in a space ship without enough food. She had to
do it for human progress. She didn't ask to go.
A young Swedish boy is sent to stay
with his uncle when his mother falls ill.
 Less
a coming-of-age film than a story of a charming young boy dealt
a poor hand in life, Lasse Hallstöm's My Life as a Dog is
one of the most memorable and endearing films about childhood ever
made. Without any of the sentimental waste poured onto most any
film with a child-related theme in America, this Swedish picture
easily transcended international boundaries with its heart-rending
but ultimately uplifting tale of a boy whose unflinching rationalizations
attempt to make the misfortunes that befall him more bearable.
The favor the film found with child audiences worldwide demonstrates
how strongly the film relies on its faithful portrayal of a child's
perspective on the world, and the inner logic young Ingemar follows.
Hallström managed to strike a successful balance between a bittely
realistic sense of misery and a romantic portrayal of eccentric
village life, which he has yet to equal in his current American
films (What's Eating Gilbert Grape has been his best Hollywood-produced
attempt at a similar style so far). |
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Movie-only releases are available
for Region 1 (with a pan&scan fullscreen transfer) and for
Region 2 in the UK (with a non-anamorphic widescreen image).
The Criterion Collection release has a few strong extras,
no region coding and boasts a superb anamorphic widescreen
transfer. The Criterion release served as the basis for this
review.
The anamorphic widescreen
image is windowboxed at an aspect ratio of approx. 1.66:1. Knocking
the pants off the washed-out looking transfer that have
been available on earlier DVD incarnations, this newly remastered
transfer boasts a pristine image unhindered by print damage
or other defects. The slight softness and very fine grain
make up natural components of the original cinematography,
making this release a visual delight.
The original monaural sound mix is reproduced faithfully
in Dolby Digital 1.0. Uncluttered and clear as this soundtrack
stays throughout the film, there are moments when the subtly
melodic score would have benefited from a mix that separated
the music from the dialogues. But otherwise, this is an impressively
rendered and undistorted mix of an understated soundtrack.
Not exactly one of The Criterion
Collection's most feature-packed DVD releases, this modest
entry in their impressive catalog still shines with a few
charming, well-chosen supplements. No audio commentary track
has been recorded for the release, but an outstanding new interview with
charming director Lasse Hallström almost makes up for this
absence. He talks disarmingly about his inspirations for
the film and important place it holds in his career. Also
on board is an early work of Hallström's, the short film Shall
we go to my place or your place or each go home alone? Originally
shot for Swedish TV, this 52-minute piece looks far more
worn-out than the feature, but still has acceptable image
quality and makes for a charming side dish to the main course
on the disc. Its a slightly dated but still highly amusing
tale of three students out on the town in Stockholm's night
life, each desperately hoping to get lucky. It's followed
by a two-minute interview with Hallström
about this early work of his. The theatrical trailer completes
the extras on the disc, while two terrific essays by
Michael Atkinson and Kurt Vonnegut are to be found in the
DVD's booklet.  Subtly
animated menu screens combine nicely chosen and carefully combined
images from the film with clear and user-friendly navigation.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
2003
Click
here for IMDB info on My
Life as a Dog.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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