by Gary Carlson - June 23, 2005

Swedish director Lasse Hallström, honored at a June 15 "Meet the Director" event at Stamford's Avon Theatre, is quite simply one of the finest directors making films. Though often underappreciated by critics--many of whom are put off by his quirky characters, whimsical tone and meandering pace--it is hard to ignore the compelling performances that abound in his films, from My Life as a Dog to minor works such as marital comedy/dramas Once Around (1991) and Something to Talk About (1995). These films, along with Hallstrom's better known What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Cider House Rules (1999), and Chocolat (2000), all evince the same refusal to be pigeon-holed, the same proclivity for unusual stories, the same insistence on revealing the truth--often in the most startling ways.

That sense of truth-telling is at the very core of My Life as a Dog , Hallström's adaptation of Reidar Jonsson's autobiographical novel about a mischievous 12-year-old boy whose mother is dying and, as a result, who finds himself repeatedly shuttled from one relative to another.

"In this film I tried to be honest, to include honest sentiment--feeling--without becoming sentimental," Hallström explained.

What strikes one upon seeing the film again, 20 years after its initial release, is how timeless it is and how refreshingly honest in its treatment of a story that could easily have been rendered maudlin, exploitive or crass. This can be attributed to Hallström's handling of his actors. Considered an "actor's director," Hallström always seems able to elicit extraordinary work from even the most ordinary actors. He accomplishes this by establishing a bond between himself and every actor on the set. His innate interest in and respect for people is unmistakable and his demeanor is so cordial it creates an environment of comfort and trust, freeing the actors to act.

Certainly this was true of Anton Glanzelius, the young actor whose performance in Dog is so galvanizing. "I just let him go. I let him alone. It was all him," Hallström insisted. "My job is to encourage the actor to be honest, without being theatrical--to encourage the actor, yes, and if necessary, to restrain him from being unnatural.'"

Hallström practices what he preaches. Those qualities he values in actors--naturalness, honesty and restraint--are evident everywhere in his work, from his use of natural lighting, to his refusal to engage in the modern addiction of rapid-fire cutting and overly intrusive music, to his openness toward characters and stories that most filmmakers either choose to ignore or exploit.

Where does this come from? "My parents," Hallström replies. "I was raised in quite a bohemian home." Hallström, who is a youthful looking 59, was born in Stockholm, a member of that generation that came to maturity just as Elvis and Sputnik gave way to the Beatles and Vietnam.

"My parents were free-thinkers, artists," he says. "Our house was always open, always filled with interesting and unusual people--writers, musicians, filmmakers--everybody was invited to the party. All of these people, all of this activity and creativity, I suppose, stimulated me, made me curious."

Always a film fanatic, Hallström--encouraged by the example of his parents and their friends--went out and bought his own equipment at an early age. Progressing from crude 8mm to 16mm, he started making short films--mostly music videos--for Swedish television and then the nationalized Swedish Film Industry. (One of his earliest full-length commercial films is ABBA--The Movie , definitely not one of his must-sees.) In light of his off-hand "apprenticeship" (he attended no film school and is completely self-taught), it is perhaps not surprising that the only audience question that seemed to bewilder Hallström and try his patience a bit came from someone seeking advice on how to "break into" filmmaking.

"Just buy some equipment and start making films," he says, totally without sarcasm. "That's what I did. It's actually much easier and cheaper now than it was when I started. You can get really good equipment for about $3,000. Video production is so much better and so much more efficient nowadays. And with all the film festivals and cable channels, it is far easier to get your film seen and distributed these days."

Those who relish the "smallness" of Hallstrom's work and the absence of big budgets and special effects may be surprised by his next film, Casanova . The potential box-office hit stars Heath Ledger in the role of the legenday lover, but with Hallström, surprises are to be expected.