Dog of Flanders

Rating:
Summary: Nice Disney syle fare
Review: I remember enjoying watching this on the Wonderful World of Disney as a child. A "boy meets dog, loses grandfather, finds new family" formula film. A couple of sad/scary moments, nicely smoothed over by the sudden appearance of a parent/adult to explain things.

A pleasant, if bland depiction of Flanders in 1900. Worth watching to see scenes of Antwerp in 1959 when it was filmed.

Out of print I believe, but may still be found in bargain bins.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Disney syle fare
Review: I remember enjoying watching this on the Wonderful World of Disney as a child. A "boy meets dog, loses grandfather, finds new family" formula film. A couple of sad/scary moments, nicely smoothed over by the appearance of a parent/adult in the film.

A pleasant, if bland depiction of Flanders in 1900. Worth watching to see scenes of Antwerp in 1959 when it was filmed.

Out of print I believe, but may still be found in bargain bins.

Rating:
Summary: Good showcase for optimistic existentialism
Review: This is an interesting story that consistently presents the optimistic and appealing side of existentialism. The characters are multi-dimensional and believable, and the story touching but not sappy (except maybe the ending). The acting and video are typical of 1959 and are a bit jarring now -- but the story makes up for it, in my opinion.

The movie presents a consistent, optimistic existentialist point of view: virtue is having and making choices which shape your own destiny; while un-virtue is having or exercising no control over one's life. Also, virtue is focusing on the individual human side of people, while un-virtue is treating people legalistically as objects. As the plot progresses, Nello, though persistent and determined in his pursuit of his dream, finds his choices slipping away until it looks like he has lost everything, even his life. But in the end, he, the miller, the legalistic priest, and the artist mentor all find existential redemption.

I've also reviewed the 1999 version of this movie, which I really disliked. I go into more details about the characters and compare the 1959 and 1999 versions point by point. You may find that review helpful also.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Film for Families with Mature Children
Review: This movie would be just another run-of-the-mill movie about an orphan boy and a dog with some serious overacting on the part of Theodore Bikel, among others, but there are parts of this movie that make it worth watching.

Nello, played by David Ladd, the future husband of Cheryl Ladd, lives with his grandfather after his mother passed away. Nello loves art and paintings and longs to be a painter. He frequently sneaks into the local cathedral to avoid paying a franc to see original paintings by Peter Paul Rubens. However, Nello's grandfather is poor and the pair can barely afford to eat, much less purchase paints for Nello. However, in spite of the little they have the two are happy.

Life changes for Nello when he and his grandfather come upon a dog left to die. Nello wants to adopt the dog and help it, and his grandfather reluctantly agrees. The principal difficulty is that there is barely enough food for Nello and his grandfather, and the dog is just that much more burden. Things continue to degrade for Nello as the miller refuses to allow his daughter to play with Nello after catching Nello drawing her picture. Then the man who abandoned the dog tries twice to take it back, planning to abuse the dog again. The second time the man attempts to take the dog back the miller gets involved and the man meets an unfortunate end. It seems as though life continues to go down hill for Nello.

There is one bright spot in Nello's life. He has made a kind of friend of a painter in Antwerp who, after yelling and complaining to Nello, has started to help Nello realize his ambition of becoming a painter. Ultimately the painter helps Nello enter a local painting competition by providing Nello with paper and paints. Nello's grandfather sold some things and allowed Nello to buy a brush before he died. Nello's one great hope is that he will win the painting contest, which will allow him to continue to live in his rented hovel.

While you can see where Nello has hope that all will turn out well, there are too many factors working against Nello, and eventually he gives his dog to the Miller's daughter and leaves. In the meantime, the painter has found the painting that Nello has entered in the contest and wants to talk to him about it, but then he finds that Nello has disappeared. Where did Nello go? What will happen to his dog? Did I mention that Nello wonders why the painter has yet to marry his model, who is obviously in love with him? I leave these questions for you to answer if you can find a copy of this movie.

Difficult to see from the quality of the movie, but the paintings by Peter Paul Rubens are truly wondrous and appear to be authentic. Even with the weak video I will still impressed by these magnificent paintings. The cathedral in which they were housed, which the end credits states is genuine, is gorgeous, a fitting home for the art within.

The quality of this movie may leave a bit to be desired, as the performances vary from wooden to hammy, but the scenery in 1959 Belgium and Holland, especially the cathedral interiors, is beautiful, and the story should appeal to mature children ages 7 and above who can handle the occasional violence. David Ladd is wonderful as the center of the attention and his perfect blend of enthusiasm and innocence brings to mind Little Orphan Annie.