Oscar Profile #196: Lasse Hallstrom

Born June 2, 1946 in Stockholm, Sweden to a dentist father and a famous writer mother, Lars Sven (Lasse) Hallstrom’s maternal grandfather was Sweden’s finance minister from 1926-28 and again from 1930-33. Having studied music in Stockholm, the future award-winning film director learned his craft making music videos for ABBA in the 1970s. His first wife, Malou, to whom he was married from 1974 to 1981, was the editor on his 1977 documentary film, ABBA: The Movie.

Moving to feature films, Hallstrom’s 1985 Swedish film, My Life As a Dog became an international success that received two Oscar nominations following its 1987 U.S. release, both of them going to Hallstrom, one for directing and the other for writing shared with three others.

From 1991 on, most of Hallstrom’s films have been U.S. productions beginning with that year’s Once Around with a cast headed by Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter. 1993’s much admired What’s Eating Gilbert Grape was the director’s first U.S. film nominated for an Oscar, earning Leonardo DiCaprio the first of five acting nominations to date.

Hallstrom married second wife, Oscar nominated actress Lena Olin (Enemies, a Love Story) in 1994. His 1995 film, Something to Talk About earned Kyra Sedgwick a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. 1999’s The Cider House Rules returned Hallstrom himself to Oscar glory. The film earned seven nominations including Best Picture and Director and won two, one for Best Supporting Actor Michael Caine and another for Best Adapted Screenplay.

2000’s Chocolat became Hallstrom’s second film in two years to earn a Best Picture nomination. It received a total of five nominations including those for Best Actress contender Juliette Binoche and Best Supporting Actress contender Judi Dench. His 2001 film, The Shipping News received numerous awards recognition including BAFTA nods for stars Kevin Spacey and Judi Dench but no Oscar nominations.

The director’s work since then has included the melancholy 2005 film, An Unfinished Life with Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez and Morgan Freeman and the same year’s deft comedy, Casanova starring Heath Ledger. 2006’s suspense-filled The Hoax gave us Richard Gere as fraudster Clifford Irving while 2009’s touching Hachi: A Dog’s Tale gave us the same actor as a beloved college professor with a devoted dog.

2010’s Dear John starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried marked Hallstrom’s first direction of a film based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. 2013’s Safe Haven with Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel would be the second. In between came Salmon Fishing in Yemen starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt and the Swedish thriller, The Hynotist which Sweden submitted for Best Foreign Film Oscar consideration to no avail in 2012.

The 68 year-old director’s latest film is the clash of cultures drama, The Hundred-Foot Journey starring Helen Mirren, Manish Dayal and Om Puri.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

MY LIFE AS A DOG (1985/1987 (U.S.)

Hallstrom gained international acclaim with this classic about a young boy in 1950s Sweden.

Sent to live with relatives by his mother who lies dying of an unnamed disease, the boy is a sensitive lad who is deeply affected by the fate of a dog sent into space who dies in orbit.

On the surface the film is about the boy and the eccentric people he meets while staying with his relatives, but deep down it is a universal study of childhood and the condescension of adults toward the children who are often more perceptive than they suspect.

WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (1993)

Johnny Depp has one of his best roles as the title character, a sensitive young man responsible for his morbidly obese mother (non-professional Darlene Cates) and mentally challenged young brother (fast rising Leonardo DiCaprio).

Depp and a very fine Juliette Lewis impress as star-crossed young lovers, but the film’s greatness lies in the beautifully nuanced performances of DiCaprio who was nominated for an Oscar and Cates who wasn’t but should have been.

THE CIDER HOUSE RULES (1999)

This coming-of-age film became Hallstrom’ first to be nominated for Best Picture and the second after My Life As a Dog to earn Hallstrom himself a Best Director nod.

Tobey Maguire is first rate the boy/man, an adolescent ward of a doctor running a Maine orphanage played by Michael Caine in his second Oscar winning role. Charlize Thereon co-stars.

CHOCOLAT (2000)

Hallstrom’s second film to earn an Oscar nod for Best Picture is a mix of the charming about a confectioner who upsets a small town community mixed with more serious matters including domestic violence.

Juliette Binoche received an Oscar nod for Best Actress for her lead performance but even better are Judi Dench who also received a nod for her feisty old lady and Lena Olin who missed out on a nod for her abused wife. Johnny Depp as a gypsy who becomes BInche’s lover and Alfred Molina as the town mayor are also prominent in the cast.

HACHI: A DOG’S TALE (2009)

A film festival hit that did not have a theatrical run in the U.S., this film based on a true story became a hit on DVD when it was released on home video in 2010.

Richard Gere gives one of his best performances as an American college professor whose faithful dog accompanies him to the local train station and waits for his return every night even after his master dies. The actual story took place in Japan. There is a statue of the real life dog in his waiting spot outside the railroad station in Shibuya, Japan. There is now also a statue of the dog outside the location in Rhode Island where the film was made.