Films about childhood

I thought that my post yesterday was so downbeat, that I should try to focus on something positive. I was thinking about why I love certain movies, and the answer seemed to be that they resonate with me. Films about childhood do that more than most. Cinema is there to entertain us, but often, films reflect our own experiences back to us. In my case this is particularly true of ‘My Life as a Dog,’ made in Sweden in 1985, by Lasse Hallstrom.

It’s the story of a twelve year old boy called Ingemar, whose mother becomes ill, causing him to be fostered, which doesn’t work out, then to be placed with his Aunt and Uncle, which does. I had similar experiences at the same age, and had some of the same issues – what’s happened to my dog? Like Ingemar, I was lied to. Of course both our dogs had been destroyed. Hence Ingemar’s concern for Laika, the Russian space dog.

We’ve all had childhoods, and most of us will have experienced moments like this, which is why the film works, I think. All of these movies have realistic portrayals of childhood. I could go on about 'Alice in the Cities,’ as well. Although each of the films portrays childhood in a realistic way, though there is usually a touch of sentiment, which is no bad thing in my book.