Hallstrom became a filmmaker at age ten with the 8mm ten-minute thriller "The Ghost Thief" (1956). As a high school student, he made a documentary short about his friends' efforts to form a rock band which was subsequently broadcast on Swedish TV in 1967. After high school, Hallstrom spent ten years making short fillers for Swedish TV--usually writing, shooting and editing his own projects. He then advanced to become the director of an entire TV program, "Shall We Dance?" (c. 1968). Hallstrom next sought training as a producer, and the ensuing popularity of his many TV projects enabled him to finally make his feature directorial debut. "A Guy and a Gal/En Kille och en Tjej" (1975) was a light romantic comedy that depicted a young couple's relationship. His next project was "ABBA: The Movie" (1977), an enjoyable concert film featuring the Swedish super group. Hallstrom's next three comedies were made under the name Lars Hallstrom and dealt with love, marriage, parenthood and divorce, themes which would continue to preoccupy his work. He also made a sequel to his debut, "Two Guys and a Gal/Tva Killar och en Tjej" (1983).
Hallstrom did not immediately head for Hollywood upon the success of "My Life as a Dog". He helmed two Swedish children's films, "The Children of Bullerby Village/Alla vi barn i Bullerby" (1986) and its sequel "More About the Children of Bullerby Village/Mer om oss barn i Bullerby" (1987), both adapted from the works of Astrid Lindgren (author of the popular "Pippi Longstocking" books).
Hallstrom made his American feature debut as the writer-director of "Once Around" (1991), an uneven family comedy-drama set in Boston, boasting an impressive ensemble including Holly Hunter, Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Aiello and Gena Rowlands. He fared better handling only directing chores on "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" (1993), a quirky, handsome, unsentimental film about an unconventional American family that included a 500-pound mother and a mentally handicapped 18-year-old boy, featuring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film was not a box office success. Hallstrom had slightly better luck with "Something to Talk About" (1995), a semi-feminist comedy-drama written by Callie Khouri of "Thelma and Louise" fame and starring Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid.
After a four-year absence (during which a dream project to star his second wife Lena Olin collapsed), Hallstrom returned on much surer ground with the exquisite, if slightly sentimental, adaptation of John Irving's mammoth novel "The Cider House Rules" (1999). Working from a screenplay by the author, he crafted an old-fashioned, visually beautiful coming-of-age tale and elicited fine performances from a cast including Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Michael Caine (who netted a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) and Delroy Lindo. Hallstrom received his second Academy Award nomination for directing and saw his somewhat moribund career rebound. "Chocolat" (2000), an adaptation of Joanne Harris' whimsical novel, achieved the right balance of realism and magic and proved enchanting for audiences. Essentially a morality play with a message about tolerance, "Chocolat" examined how an itinerant candy maker (Juliette Binoche) and her conflicts with the mayor (Alfred Molina) affected the lives of the residents of a small French village in the late 1950s. The genial comedy bore the stamp of its director in its warmth and unabashed sentiment tempered by humor. (It also allowed him to direct Olin in the secondary role of a troubled wife who blossoms under the guidance of Binoche's chocolatiere.)
Hallstrom followed with yet another film drawn from a novel: "The Shipping News" (2001), adapted from Anne Proulx's Pulitzer winner. Despite the presence of Kevin Spacey and Judi Dench, the film was a creative misfire, failing to capture the spirit of the book that had entranced so many. Hallstrom attempted to rebound with "An Unfinished Life" (2005), an emotion driven tale centering around a grizzled and cantankerous rancher (Robert Redford) who must take in his estranged daughter-in-law (Jennifer Lopez)whom he blames for the death of his son, as well as the granddaughter he never knew he had when they flee an abusive relationship. Though capably assembled and well-acted, critics generally found the film--which was stuck in limbo many months after completion due to the restructuting of Miramax Films following the departure of Hallstrom boosters Bob and Harvey Weinstein--cliched and oversentimental. Much worse was his next 2005 release: "Casanova," a fictionalized account of the legendary Italian lothario (Heath Ledger) falling in love at last, was easily one of the most ill-conceived and disappointing films of the year, despite lavish production values and game performances by Ledger and the rest of the all-star cast.