A Dog of Flanders (1999)

A Dog of Flanders: Directed by Kevin Brodie. With Jack Warden, Jeremy James Kissner, Jesse James, Jon Voight. Poor, but happy, young Nello and his grandfather live alone, delivering milk as a livelihood, in the outskirts of Antwerp, a city in Flanders (the Flemish or Dutch-speaking part of modern-day Belgium). They discover a beaten dog (a Bouvier, a large sturdy dog native to Flanders) and adopt it and nurse it back to health, naming it Patrasche, the middle name of Nello’s mother Mary, who died when Nello was very young. Nello’s mother was a talented artist, and like his mother, he delights in drawing, and his friend Aloise is his model and greatest fan and supporter.

“During a terrible winter storm, Mary is dying and must see that her baby Nello is taken care of. She leaves him with his grandfather Jehan, who is poor but loving.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSeveral years later, Nello is old enough to help Jehan with his milk deliveries in Antwerp. The two have little money and must strive to stay one step ahead of the evil landlord. But they are happy with their lives. Itu0026#39;s quite unusual to see a young boy work hard and demand little without complaining. Nello considers William the Blacksmith to be a friend.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOn one of his deliveries, Nello sees u0026quot;a dog of Flandersu0026quot; who appears to be dead. He is not, but we saw the dog being beaten by its cruel owner (for parents, I should point out the dog is not visible during the beating, but it is obvious what is going on). Nello revives the dog and takes him home.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNellou0026#39;s mother was a talented artist, and Nello has inherited his motheru0026#39;s ability. Years later, Nello considers his neighbor Aloise Cogez not just a pretty model for his drawings, but also a potential girlfriend. Aloiseu0026#39;s father Nicholas will not accept his daughter having anything to do with a poor boy; Nicholas grew up the poor son of a tinker but worked hard building the farm of his wife Anna into a successful business that by this time includes a mill. Anna is more willing to accept Nello but feels she must obey her husband.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe former owner of the dog recognizes the animal he abandoned and demands his return. Nello will not do it, which results in a fight that some children might find disturbing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eArtist Michel LeGrand believes Nello has the ability to become a great painter, and he teaches Nello what he needs to know. Eventually, Nello decides to enter a contest which will help him pay his mounting bills. The death of his grandfather leaves him with no family and no other means of income other than his art (although he is still able to deliver milk, supposedly).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a very good family film. Most of the leading performers do a good job. There is a minimum of offensive content. Most importantly, the movie teaches lessons about determination and hard work, and being happy regardless of your situation. Not that hard work always leads to rewards, but that just makes determination that much more important.”