My Life as a Dog

My Life as a Dog [Mitt liv som hund] (Criterion #178).
1985 Svensk Filmindustri & Janus Films.
Starring: Anton Glanzeluis, Tomas von Brömssen, Anki Lidén, Melinda Kinnaman, Kicki Rundgren, Lennart Hjulström
Director: Lasse Hallström
Available at Amazon.

Ingemar (Glanzelius) is a twelve-year-old boy who can't stop getting into trouble, which drives his mother (Lidén) crazy. Sadly, Ingemar has no idea that his mom is terminally ill. Eventually, he and his older brother become too much for her, and they are split up and sent off to live with relatives. Ingemar is sent to stay with his maternal uncle Gunnar (von Brömssen) and his wife Ulla (Rundgren). It should be noted that Ingemar usually tells himself frequently that whatever he has experienced could have been much worse, frequently citing the story of Laika, the Soviet space dog.

(At the time of filming, it was generally assumed that Laika survived the launch of Sputnik 2, and lived for several days afterward, only dying after mission control euthanized her with a poisoned serving of food. In 2002, the truth was finally revealed: that Laika died a few hours after launch, presumably from stress and overheating.)

After spending a wonderful and memorable summer with his aunt and uncle, Ingemar returns home, but his mother's health declines further, and she is hospitalized. After her passing, Ingemar is returned to his aunt and uncle's place, which they are now sharing with a large Greek family. Despite being fought over by two girls, the stress of his mother's death, and the knowledge that his beloved dog was put down during his first absence is too much for Ingemar, and he eventually hides in a one-room summer house, where he spends a lot of time coming to terms with everything, and realizing yet again that everything could be much worse.

Recommended movie.