My Life as a Dog poster

My Life as a Dog

It could have been worse. I've actually been lucky. If you compare...

7.3(304)19851h 42m4

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.

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Status
Released
Budget
—
Box office
$8.3M
Language
Swedish
  • underdog
  • based on novel or book
  • sweden
  • uncle
  • loneliness
  • rural area
  • dog
  • transsexual
  • tomboy
  • 1950s
  • boxing

Top billed cast

Behind the camera

Gallery

Still from My Life as a DogStill from My Life as a DogStill from My Life as a DogStill from My Life as a DogStill from My Life as a DogStill from My Life as a DogStill from My Life as a DogStill from My Life as a DogStill from My Life as a DogStill from My Life as a Dog

Videos

Release dates

  • United StatesUS

    • Theatrical1 May 1987
  • United KingdomGB

    • TheatricalPG29 Oct 1986
  • BrazilBR

    • Digital / OTT1226 Aug 2021
  • FinlandFI

    • Theatrical5 Dec 1986
  • GermanyDE

    • Theatrical614 Oct 1987
  • IrelandIE

    • TheatricalPG5 Aug 1988
  • JapanJP

    • TheatricalPG1224 Dec 1988
  • NetherlandsNL

    • TheatricalAL18 Dec 1986
    • TVALNederland 322 Sept 2002
    • PhysicalALDVD3 Mar 2006
  • South KoreaKR

    • TheatricalALL27 May 1989
  • SwedenSE

    • Theatrical712 Dec 1985

Frequently asked questions

My Life as a Dog was released on 12 December 1985.

Audience reviews

2
  • F

    Filipe Manuel Neto

    7/10/2023

    7/10

    **An exceptionally well-made film about an ordinary boy experiencing things common to almost all boys his age.** I don't have much experience with Swedish cinema, but what I saw already showed me that it is quality cinema, so it was with some curiosity that I sat down for another film. It centers on a boy, Ingemar, who lives with his brother and mother, who is very sick and unable to control their restlessness. Wh…

  • H

    Harry_Gill

    6/20/2026

    The film's title translates a Swedish idiom for rotten luck. That tells you everything about how 12-year-old Ingemar processes the world. He doesn't get angry. He doesn't break down. He finds worse situations and measures himself against them. The dog he keeps returning to is Laika, the Soviet space dog sent up in Sputnik 2 with no plan to bring her back. Ingemar can't release that image. He stacks it against his …

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