Swedish Movie Reviews

Of late, I have developed an interest in Bergman movies. I can't seem to get myself away from them, as the "artfullness" of Bergman's movies transcend time and even Bergman's weightly "popularity". When he was allowed to pursue his "art" by being given the "poetic license" of his popularity i.e. he could write, direct, attract stars that he wanted, I feel he produced what one would hope, all he was capable of as an artist.
Yes, this sounds grandiose on my part to give such an uninhibited glowing review of what would seem to be such stark movies. But folks, these DVD's are worth it, because the viewer is given the opportunity to see the behind the scenes making of the movies, and more than a peek at Bergman himself. Bergman appears to be an artist not afraid to look at himself beyond the curse of Narcissus. What he was able to see and show through these movies is remarkable.
I bought these DVD's with some trepidation, thinking that I may be pursuing my interest to nurture my proclivity to wallow in depressive affect or worse to try to in my older middle aged years imbibe as much art as I can tolerate as the trash that is produced and maketed by the media is exponential. I'm afraid to say that much of the "art" sits on my bookshelves or in a pile here or there, gleaned once and put away for another time. I could not do that with these movies, or any other Bergman DVD's that I have watched. I bring up the DVD issue, as the VCR versions are nice, but do not offer the "extras" of the DVD's i.e. interviews with Bergman, etc. I have VCR versions of some of his movies, but will buy DVD as well of some of them i.e. Persona when they are available. Enough said, anyone with an interest in Bergman should own this exceptional Trilogy plus "Ingmar Bergman makes a movie".

Despite the comment of "a viewer", the disc of THE SILENCE in this set is completely uncut and full-length. Criterion's earlier laserdisc featured the shorter US theatrical version, but this new DVD edition is the complete, unedited, original version of THE SILENCE.

The two scenes reinstated for this DVD involve Anna's rendezvous with the waiter. In one scene, we see Anna's son Johan looking through the keyhole of a door behind which are his mother and the waiter. Cut to a full frontal, waist-up, nude shot of Anna who walks towards the camera and over to the bed. This shot, lasting a few seconds, was absent from the laserdisc, but is present on this DVD and has been fully restored.

Later in the film, we return to Anna and the waiter. This time, Anna's sister Ester enters their room to confront Anna. After Ester leaves, Anna now in tears wrestles with the waiter, struggles and eventually leans over the foot of the bed frame with the waiter behind her. The laserdisc also did not include the full length of this particular shot. In the new DVD, you can see the complete shot, lasting 23 seconds longer.

Beautifully packaged, with excellent features, the trilogy is pretty mind blowing in its bleakness and (deferred) promise of salavation. Take a quiet evening (preferrably in the Winter) and watch these three in reverse order (Glass Darkly is the least bleak, and most redemptive) to really get a handle on an important aspect of Bergman's work.

Another triumph for Criterion's work.

The story is basic and told in many ways. A famous violinist (Leslie Howard) falls in love with his daughter's piano teacher (Ingrid Bergman). Unlike many movies where the pare cause each other trouble and force the other to beg their way back into good graces, the situations are real enough that you feel that you are part of the story. You will have to watch to find out how they deal with feelings and act on them.

If you find this movie as intriguing as I do, your next one should be Brief Encounter - Criterion Collection (1945). See my review When you feel like British, no other film will do as well. May 6, 2001

This movie is a perfect example of Ingrid in her pre-hollywood innocent days. I love her Swedish movies because she's always the innocent little girl that everyone loves. She is a young piano podigy who supports herself by teaching piano lessons. She falls in love with her student's father who is a famous violin player. She runs away with him, but being sweet, moral Ingrid, leaves because she can't have an affair with a married man. She actually plays the piano in this movie, and quite beautifully. I've seen the English version as well and I prefer the Swedish one. A must-see for any Bergman fan.

I've seen both versions of Intermezzo... this one and the English version with Leslie Howard playing opposite Bergman. I prefer the Swedish version to the Hollywood one. It was pretty neat to hear Bergman speak in her mother tongue, although I couldn't understand one darn thing she was saying (that's what subtitles are for....doh!). Ingrid is so young, so beautiful in this film. The story keeps you interested and not a bad actor in sight.

Sofie is a stunning piece of work that portrays the unresolved love a Jewish woman has towards a Christian man, whom she chose not to marry. As the story unfolds, the humanizing elements of Sofie's character become the focalpoint. Empathy towards her struggle to accept the cards life has dealt her is easily accomplished as Liv Ullmann brilliantly and sensitively directs this fabulous work of art. Movies like this are a rare gem in the world of high-budget, glitzy Hollywood action. It is so often forgotten that a solid story line with richly established characters can be more affectatious than a $100 million dollar budget. Five stars+! Don't be intimidated by the subtitles. This drama will touch your heart. I share the sentiments of the previous reviewer... this movie is hauntingly moving and gripping!

I was unable to get up and walk out of the theatre, or stop sobbing, at the end of this movie. I don't recall ever being so moved by a film. The perfect beauty of the story and the production, as well at the incredible acting, has remained with me since I saw it in 1993. It touched me particularly as a mother, with the grief and pride she displayed while letting her child go. Thank you, Liv Ullman

Pelle the Conqueror is an utterly flawless film with regards to acting, cinematography, score, storytelling, etc. It won Best Foreign Film honors at the Academy Awards and was even nominated for Best Picture. Of course, the politics of Hollywood could never have allowed it to claim that honor, otherwise a precedence would have been set of acknowledging that foreign films might be (gasp!) better than a lot of the [stuff] Tinseltown shovels out.

Personally, I watched the Oscars that year exclusively to cheer for Pelle the Conqueror and even more specifically for Max Von Sydow, who turned in the performance of a lifetime. From the moment I began watching the film to the moment it ended, I never lost my sense of absolute immersion. It was, in truth, a grueling experience... because like so many Scandinavian films, Pelle is not a "feel good" story and doesn't have a happy ending. It doesn't have a happy beginning or middle, either. I'm straining my memory to remember a full happy minute, actually. Max Von Sydow is so thoroughly convincing as the widower father of 12-year-old Pelle Hvenegaard that I couldn't help but bear his anguish as all his hopes for a better life for his son get trampled. Even though I was fairly young when the film came out, Von Sydow led me to understand a poor father's burden. When I saw this movie in the theater in 1988, I was told by a friend it was "part one" and that the subsequent film would give viewers a little more resolution as young Pelle escapes to try to reach America... I waited and waited for that sequel, because I believed in these characters and wanted a better life for them; that's how powerful the film was to me.

So why only 4 stars? Because the DVD (to date -- these things sometimes change) does not contain the whole film. 22 minutes were hacked from the original to fit into American time slots, and they were inexplicably not restored when the film went to DVD. The DVD also lacks special features such as "making of," background story, director's comments, etc. that would have been fascinating, especially considering this is such an epic foreign film from a country American viewers know so little about.

Max von Sydow magnificently plays a certain type of Scandinavian man, maybe his best film of the ones I've seen. I saw the movie when it came out, remembered it as fantastic but forgot the details, then watched the video again recently. Tried to watch it with my 7 and 12 year old sons, but the older one couldn't take it: too much sadness. The theme of the movie: unfathomable human cruelty, that 'happiness' is only an illusion. How to know that the movie was filmed on Bornholm? The Rundkirk in a burial scene.

The story behind this movie was very touching. My Great-Great Grandfather went AWOL and came to America about the time this movie is set. The movie helped reveal to me why my family carries some of the attitudes it has and why he stopped speaking Danish or speaking of Denmark the day he stepped on American soil. This movie is a must for anyone of Scandinavian ancestry.

This collection would be improved by inclusion of the early Dreyer comedy The Master of The House. I have seen Gertrud and The Day of Wrath in the cinema several times and Gertrud is on my list of all time top ten. The severity minimal means achieving maximum effects are the essence of what director/critic/screenwriter called "the transcendental style". The story of a woman's' love that was never requited by those who loved sounds simple enough but then, Dreyer would not be the master he is if he had not turned it into something beautiful that is intrinsically tied to the means of the film as medium itself. I thin that this film has only 57 shots. Yes 57! Long camera takes and static camera setups are what make this particular film and unforgettable experience. Definitely not for all tastes but once you see it you will probably be hooked.

Dreyer was concerned with truth, which he defined as being true to life. Words, voice quality, movement, lighting all had to reflect the script as refracted through a realistic exposition of human nature. Dreyer achieved this truth. There is no denying he was a genius at directing. Yet all in all, these stories are uninteresting. After the first half of Ordet, the remainder of the plot is fairly predictable. And I hate to say it, but Gertrud is just plain boring. We learn a bit about the meaning of love, but hardly enough to recompense our time. Yet Gertrud exemplifies the problem with the material. Dreyer's concern for truth was for truth in detail, yet the deep truths expressed in Gertrud are of a philosophical nature, i.e. the larger truths that represent the summary wisdom gained over a lifetime. If it is true, as Dreyer said, that we enter the theater and are transported into a different experience, it seems obvious that we would not want it to be "real" in the sense of that which seems like our common, everyday lives. Some of the "reality TV" shows that give us a glimpse into the life of ordinary people only reveal that these people are...well, ordinary. In fact, most of those people are darned uninteresting, their ideas pedestrian, and their conversation dull. While I shun movies loaded with special effects, explosions, and artificial tensions predictably resolved, I also expect the movie to open a window into the imagination by presenting a plot that has a germ of something unreal. These three movies are thoughtful, but not thought provoking. The photography is excellent and, in fact, the most exciting part of the production. The staging is meticulous. And the transfers are superb (Thanks again, Critereon!). I want to make it clear that my disappointment with these films issues from neither the usual American impatience with slow expositions and pacing, nor from unfamiliarity with foreign films. I loved Afterlife, and have many other foreign films in my collection. Again, Dreyer was a genius. But the material he chose and his literal treatment of it make this set a disappointment. Of the four discs, only the one about Dreyer (My Metier) was truly interesting. Day Of Wrath is mildly interesting, but one I could easily miss.

This great package contains films by one on the masters of modern cinema. Dreyer's work provides a marvellous antidote to what passes for cinema in today's world. Dreyer's films are in effect works of art.
Of this set, my two favorites are Ordet and Gertrud. All of Carl Dreyer's film manage to magically combine the physical and the metaphysical. It takes time to get into the pace of these films, but one into them, they are totally absorbing. The pace required is that of real time. These films restore real emotion and humanity to film, so very different from what passes for emotion and feeling in most of today's Hollywood productions.
To understand these films it is necessary to work from the inside out as it were. We are required to do the work for ourselves. We have to think and feel for ourselves as we watch these films. They are theraputic in the sense that the viewer has to slow down and pay attention. Everything counts in a Dreyer film.
These film are at one and the same time abstract and very personal. I can see how they have influenced fellow Dane Lars von rier.
For anyone is looking for action and external excitement in their films, I would suggest that they look elsewhere, but if they are want to see meditative works of art, this is the place to find them.

Take some of these reviewers with a grain of salt. You know the ones who give it 5 stars and say, "Brilliant, simply brilliant...brilliant...brilliant..."

Cinematographically speaking, the beach scene near the beginning (with the sun setting in the background) is artistically touching. The rest is shot quite well, though I don't think it has the merit to obsess over.

Bergman answers no questions in this movie. He started filming with his belief that there is no god and the entire film takes on that character and moves toward that end (Note Block's dubious feelings: "I want to tear Him from my heart!"). Fine for an atheist, but for an agnostic or someone searching for faith or a real answer (not just a reassurance mind you), this really doesn't do at all.

I find his all too easy dismissal unconvincing. He asks, "Where is the evidence?" Something that cannot be captured within the 35 mm aperture of a camera lens? Something not so obvious as simply being told? Something a bit more illusory than just reading the Bible?

The film is so grim (some have called it funny -- they have issues) one wonders if Bergman has ever seen a butterfly in flight on a sunny summer afternoon. Or if he has ever heard Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus in a cathedral (a requirement of life, no doubt). Or if he has ever attended a life-affirming concert of jazz improvisation. The answer to the question of God lies nowhere within this 35.99 dvd case. That answer doesn't cost money. It lies with your consciousness, your being, between you and the sun and the stars...

...We are the fingerprint of God.

Aside from being a profound meditation on mans place in the universe and all that, this movie is some kind of funny. No other movie has ever made such a macabre subject seem more hillarious. The scene where the troupe-director fakes his own suicide, only to climb up a tree which death soon cuts down, and others, have a sort of irony which you would be hard-pressed to find in literature, let alone movies. One of the sayings in my life that i've recited over and over again I got from The Seventh Seal: Whichever way you turn, your ass will always be behind you. The cinematography is truly lyrical, especially the opening scenes. At the end I felt a little jibbed because having seen Woody Allens parody of the Dance of Death I didn't get all the emotional power that scene had to offer. But it affected me nonetheless.
You must appreciate Bergman's courage for undertaking this project. How many other directors would have the temerity to do make a movie about the futility of life so directly and so unreservedly? Of course, if anyone else tried it it probably would have turned out indulgent and juvenille.

Being a representetive of Generation Y, the 12-20 year olds living in the aftermath of Generatin X, I can say that this film is excellent. The writing is just flawless. It flows. None of the actors struggle over forced lines, the direction is beautiful, and it really is a thinking person's film. Some people foolishly praise it for its reputation, I praise it for its content. I urge you to see this film at least eight times.

I don't mind subtitles. I don't mind coming of age movies. I don't mind movies about the misfit and the popular who get together. This movie is about all the above, and for me it was too slow. The story line has been seen over and over again. I had a hard time not wanting to kick the young girl underdog. Hey, get your head out of your ass. Her style grated. There's a scene where she disses a disabled girl. I don't see how that moved the story along. Basically, the movie irritated me. But there are a lot of reviews that say how great the movie is, just not for me.

It's a sad thing that they retitled this movie 'Show Me Love' because the slightly angstier original title, 'F***ing Amal', is much more appropriate. Take all the pressures, emotions, quirks, changes, and oppresive locations (school, home, parties... even the city we live in) we have to deal with as teenagers, bottle them up, and you have the essence of this film.

Recently I've seen Welcome to the Dollhouse and Lost and Delerious, two movies that roughly fall into the same genre, but, while Welcome to the Dollhouse did a perfect job at capturing the frustration of the downtrodden and the general Jr. High/High School social hierarchy, it was perhaps a bit too bitter and focused on satire. Show Me Love is a much warmer movie, and falls somewhere between those other two, although probably closer in spirit to Lost and Delerious (only less fantastical).

Watch this movie, show it to your 16 year olds...

There's not much else to say about it, other than that parents afraid of "exposing" their kids to homosexuality should grab ahold of and quickly yank out the 6' pole they're sitting on, lest they prevent themselves and their teenagers from seeing many worthy films... The two best 'teen movies' i've seen in the past few years (lost and delerious, show me love), are also ones that are open and mature about homosexuality, both chose to remain Unrated rather than face an MPAA 'R' or 'NC-17', while most of the pg-13 movies conservative parents allow their teenagers to see are extremely explicit, immature, and probably much more averse to the parents' ideals.

This is a coming of age story that struck me as being true-to-the-heart and very gripping, often being poignant. The latter is for myself the best proof that I liked the movie a lot (so many movies are made with the intention of being poignant, with as result hopeless affairs).

The two leads are talented and made everything look realistic. So much that I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they look even the age they are supposed to play, even though Rebecka Liljeberg and Erica Carlson are older in real-life than in Show Me Love (also known as F**king Amal). The ** are there so as to prevent Amazon from butchering this review.

Do not miss this one.

A review mentioned: "outgrossing Titanic in Sweden and The Netherlands."

Regarding the above: Titanic is an excellent example of superficial, pretentious crack, and those two countries have taste (no pun intended). And, Sweden/Denmark, make more movies like this!

Heartbreakingly simple but the epitome of Truth.

http://amal.szm.sk/fa2.htm for more information...

As I look at all the 5 star reviews that others have given this film I wonder if I am being foolhardy in daring to say something to the contrary. I am and have been for many years a Bergman fan. I eagerly saw most of his films as they were released. I love nearly all of them - this one being an exception.
Certainly the film is worth seeing - any Bergman film is. But this one is often cited as his best, and there I would strongly disagree. It is about an academic and although professor Borg has to face some of his demons, he comes out on top in then end. I understand why this film is so popular. Academics see themselves in professor Borg and academics have a lot of infulance on what is considered art and what isn't. Borg ends up looking good at the end of the film, and academics, although they have their faults like anyone else, like to think that they are worthy of respect that their position commands. In many cases they are and this is not a diatribe against academics. I just think that Bergman let this character off too easily, particulary when you compare the way he treats his other characters in movies like "The Hour of the Wolf", "The Silence", "Shame" and so on. He plumbs the depths of the soul and takes no prisoners. "Wild Strawberries" starts out that way, when the professor flashes back to the key points in his life where he turned away from love, life and reality in favor of academic honor. But ultimatly he backs down. The professor, having seen the errors of a lifetime in a few short hours, is shown to be wiser and a better man now as he receives his honory award. Bergman does not do this in his other films. For me this gives a certain falsity to "Wild Strawberries" that I don't see in "Persona" for example.
Well, everyone will probably disagree with me, - this is such an acclaimed film - but sometimes it is valuable to hear a contrarian opinion even when you don't agree with it.

Although Ingmar Bergman is justifiably regarded as one of the great filmmakers in film history, this could be his most beautiful and moving film. It is the story of Professor Isak Borg as he journeys from his home to Lund University to pick up an honorary degree. Very often in film, a journey can stand for so much more than just a trip from one place to another, and so it is in this movie. The journey roughly parallels Borg's own life, and plays much the same role in causing Borg to reevaluate his life choices as the three ghosts in Dickens's A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Like Scrooge, Borg's life is one devoid of the most important human qualities, and like Dickens, Bergman has a happy story to tell. Although we normally associate Bergman with bleak and despairing themes as found in such films as THE SILENCE or PERSONA or WINTER LIGHT, in this film Bergman holds out hope. As Borg encounters individuals in his trip and struggles with painful memories of the past, he realizes the emptiness of his life, despite his many accomplishments, and comes at the end to embrace life and find love through rediscovering the bonds with his family members.

At the center of the film is the magnificent performance by celebrated Swedish director Victor Sjöström. Although not well known outside Scandinavia, Sjöström was one of the greatest Swedish directors before Bergman. After he ceased directing, he embarked on a distinguished career as an actor, but this, his final role before his death in 1960, is perhaps his finest role. Balancing Sjöström is the remarkably beautiful Bibi Andersson as Sara, the young girl he gives a lift to. In addition to the wealth of memories that are continually assaulting his psyche, it is the unexpected friendship he finds with Sara that seems to make possibly his redemption at the end of the film. Bergman regulars, such as Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand, and Max von Sydow, fill out the rest of the cast.

I am not going to summarize the plot. Amazon.com's editors do a good job of that.

I watched this, Wild Strawberries, right after viewing of The Seventh Seal. Both films have extremely strong visuals and both deal with similar themes--Bergman remains convinced that there is nothing beyond death and hence his characters are symbolizations of the director's existential angst. However, while the characters in The Seventh Seal are archetypal and theatrical, Isaac Borg is extremely human. He is real and so are his emotions and sentiments (with which Bergman so passionately sympathizes). This makes the film touching and Borg's failures and triumphs become our own.

There is another review of this film by a customer (Brian Ridge), which claims that the reason he liked the film is because he is (or was) a film major, which makes it difficult for the rest of the "mainstream" to like this movie. He is mistaken, Bergman's films were very well recieved by the American "mainstream." Indeed, it was Bergman who pioneered the American foreign film market.

Secondly, the films which he names as being similar to this one are, quite frankly, just some movies by major international directors--Bunuel, Bergman, Kubrick, Allen, Scorsese, etc. These are all great directors but that does not make their cinema "similar." Each had their own cinematic concerns. The only similarity between these directors is that one does not need a film degree to appreciate them!

Watch the interview with Bergman and his red-headed friend, whats-his-name, to get an idea of how big a jerk this guy is. Listen as he proudly discusses the fact that he was a rotten husband and absentee father who cared only for his work. What a guy...

As for the movie, it strikes me as something that you may want to [fall asleep] to.

Although I am usually strongly opposed to Top Ten, Best of the Year, and All-Time-Favorite lists in film, music, and literature (Hear that, Modern Library?! Just because you're so hot on the works of James Joyce doesn't mean everyone else thinks they're worth the paper they're printed on--but I digress...), I'll make an exception in the case of Cries and Whispers, which has earned every one of its superlatives and acclaims. Along with Persona, it reflects a more adventurous side of the somewhat conservative director Ingmar Bergman--and both films are stunning successes.

The ostensible narrative is as follows: Two sisters, Karin and Maria, return to their family estate to keep vigil over their dying sister Agnes. While the two are quite capable and willing--out of duty, perhaps--to attend to Agnes' physical needs, they find themselves ill-equipped to console her or to offer her the emotional support that the quiet, simple household servant Anna devotedly provides. Through their particularly harrowing encounter with Agnes' death--and by inference, of course, with their own--the three survivors are forced to confront their memories, fantasies, and most repressed feelings toward one another.

Apart from the largely linear main narrative, three segments of the film are demarcated from the rest by red-hued shots of the faces of Maria, Karin, and Anna, respectively, each staring forward, engaged in the act of remembering and imagining. Between these establishing shots, we enter three ambiguous dream-like settings from each of these women's points-of-view. Each of these three scenarios appears to be a composite, to varying degrees, of actual and imagined events, the latter seemingly motivated by--or a projection of--the repressed feelings of the particular woman. These segments provide powerful insights into the characters of each of these women and further elaborate on their often strained and erratic relations with each other.

The cast features three Bergman mainstays: Harriet Andersson (Monika, Through a Glass Darkly) as Agnes; Ingrid Thulin (Wild Strawberries, Winter Light) as Karin; and Liv Ullman (Persona, Autumn Sonata) as Maria. All three are at their absolute best together in this film, and Kari Sylwan, as Anna, delivers a quietly resigned but expressive performance. One of many remarkable moments of the film comes during Agnes' death throes, which are harrowing and relentless--to the extent that she cries out: "Can't anybody help me?" I believe this is one of the most disturbing confrontations with death in all of cinema, and it is because of Andersson's abilities that this sequence is so effective. Ingrid Thulin gives a similarly harrowing performance as Karin, the steely, emotionally-absent sister whose repressed fear and rage gradually escapes from her typically staid demeanor.

The ending of Cries and Whispers deserves a special mention: It isn't a shocking conclusion, a surprising revelation, or even a tidy resolution... but it's sublime, bittersweet, and--in spite of all the human misery which the audience has just witnessed--serenely hopeful.

POSTSCRIPT: On the Criterion edition, as an "extra," there is a relatively recent interview with Ingmar Bergman and Erland Josephson (who appears in Cries and Whispers, as well as in other Bergman films like Scenes from a Marriage and Fanny and Alexander). While I admire Bergman's work, he is unfortunately not a terribly likable man, and this particular interview offers little in the way of insight into his filmmaking. It concerns, to a larger extent, his personal life, his general outlook, and his attitude toward death. All of this discussion does little more than re-emphasize the impressions left by his autiobiographical work The Magic Lantern and other interviews: that Bergman is a somewhat arrogant and cold man... But nevertheless, buy the Criterion edition for its exceptional quality--and ignore this self-important, unenlightening interview.

Cries and Whispers is an intense mediation on life, death, and how we squander our brief lives by succumbing to our inner demons. The Criterion edition is flawless, but if I remember correctly, some scenes seem to be missing or shortened. But no matter, this is a harrowing exploration of the depth of human pain, brilliantly created.

Any review of this DVD before that time is not worth evaluating. They may refer to the older DVD but they have nothing to do with the new Criterion. The Criterion is a far superior release in every way. The transfer is very nice, with warm colors and vibrant tones, albeit a tad soft at times. Audio is DD mono but serves it's purpose well. Extras include a 1973 film by the Director a new interview with him, a short essay by Kurt Vonnegut and the original trailer. Adults may want to screen this movie before letting their children view it as there are scenes with nudity and a few sexual situations. Then again if your kids watch foreign films then they are probably more mature than most! The only drawback I found was that about 45 minutes into the movie the subtitles start to lag behind the Swedish dialogue. This only lasts about two minutes but it can take you out of the story momentarily (hence 4 stars instead of 5). With that as the only caveat, there is no reason not to buy this wonderful new release of one of the very best childhood films ever made. Strongly recommended.

I was deeply touched by My Life as a Dog. It's a movie that tells an everyday story with courage and not a lot of sentiment, and it's all the more real for that. A boy loses both his mother and his beloved dog, and although he's adopted by his uncle, he can't forget what he's left behind. I found the story very unHollywood, and for that reason, quite refreshing. This movie tells a good story, and it does it superbly. The mention of Laika, the little Russian Space dog was also poignant.

I caught My Life as a Dog on PBS many years ago. To those who have not seen this film, it's a bittersweet tear jerker told from a boy's point of view (somewhat similar to Christmas Story), filled with many super funny scenes, dramas, and surprises.

Directory Lasse Hallström has gone to make a number of popular films in Hollywood (Cider House Rules, Chocolat, Shipping News, What's Eating Gilbert Grape), but I think this Swedish precursor is his superior work. His signature beautiful images (by cinematographer Jörgen Persson), filled with quirky yet fully defined supporting characters, and filled with heartwarming scenes.

Criterion's DVD is superior to all previous video presentations, remastered in high definition and presented in widescreen anamorphic video and original mono Swedish sound with faithful English subtitle. The images look a bit grainy, but I think very faithful to director's intention (who has supervised and approved the transfer) and completely satisfying.

The DVD is short of special features (just interview with Hallström, his early short TV feature "Shall With Go to My or Your Place or Each Go Home Alne", and trailer). Highly recommended.