Every filmmaker has an obsession. Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock loved blondes. His leading ladies were blondes: Tippi Hedren, Grace Kelley and many others.
Michael 'bayhem' Bay is obsessed with many things: the lamp posts, explosions, and the epic spinning shot( watch The Rock, Bad Boys, Transformers franchise).
Our center of discussion is Lasse Hallstrom, the Swedish director of well-known films like What's Eating Gilbert Grape(1993), The Cider House Rules(1999), and Chocolat(2000). Since we are talking about directors' obsession, what's Hallstrom's obsession? The answer is 'dogs'.
If you go through his filmography, you can see certain titles that are about dogs. The director loves dogs and made three movies that are about man's relationship with dogs, one of them fetched him Best Director nomination for the Academy Awards.
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| Hallstrom with his cast |
Let's see what the are:
My Life as A Dog (1985) 'This is not really a dog movie'
My Life as A Dog is a Swedish film that brought Hallstrom international recognition. The movie is about a 12-year-old boy Ingemar who doesn't gel well with his brother. His mother is terminally ill and decides to separate the fighting brothers. They are sent to live with different relatives.
Ingemar comes to know that his dog was euthanized. He actually thought the dog was in a kennel. The movie is about how Ingemar has to come to terms with the death of his mother and dog.
He tries to overcome the grief by remembering the tragic death of the dog Laika. Laika was the first dog in space.
Hachi: A Dog's Tale(2009) 'This one is a dog movie'
Hachi is a British-American production that is essentially a remake of Japanese movie Hachiko Monogatari.
The movie is about the bonding between a professor Parker, played by Richard Gere, and a dog named Hachiko. Hachi was found by Parker from a train station.
The professor brings the dog home and a close bonding develop between the two as his search for the dog's real owner turns out to be unsuccessful. Hachi: A dog's Tale is streaming on Netflix.
A Dog's Purpose (2017) 'Definitely a dog movie'
Hallstrom came back in 2017 with another dog movie A Dog's Purpose. A Dog's purpose is about the many lives, deaths and reincarnation of a dog only to teach to us that the real purpose of life is fun.
Several dog breeds are used in A Dog's Purpose as the dog is reincarnated. Its first life is as a stray mongrel named Toby. Breeds like Golden Retreiver, German Shepherd, Pembrok Welsh Corgi, St. Bernard-Australian Shepherd mix are used in A Dog's Purpose.
As per Wikipedia information, the movie grossed $196.4 million worldwide with a budget of $22 million. However, critics gave it only average rating.
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