''A Dog of Flanders '' is a 1999 film directed by

Kevin Brodie Kevin Brodie (born May 31, 1952) is an American film director, screenwriter, and former child actor. He is the son of actors Steve Brodie and Barbara Ann Stillwell. Career As a child, Brodie had small roles in such films as '' Some Came Runn ...

and starring

Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait' ...

Jeremy James Kissner Jeremy James Kissner is an American actor. Kissner's first film role was in 1998's remake of ''Great Expectations'', playing the younger version of Ethan Hawke's character. After an appearance on the television series ''Melrose Place'', he sta ...

, Jesse James,

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...

, Cheryl Ladd, Steven Hartley, and

Bruce McGill Bruce Travis McGill (born July 11, 1950) is an American actor. He worked with director Michael Mann in the movies '' The Insider'' (1999), ''Ali'' (2001), and '' Collateral'' (2004). McGill's other notable film roles include Daniel Simpson "D-Da ...

. The screenplay was written by Brodie and Robert Singer, based on the 1872 novel of the same name by

Ouida Ouida (; 1 January 1839 – 25 January 1908) was the pseudonym of the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé (although she preferred to be known as Marie Louise de la Ramée). During her career, Ouida wrote more than 40 novels, as well as s ...

. The film was shot on location in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, but ironically not in Antwerp where the story supposedly takes place. It was the fifth film based on the original novel.

Plot

Impoverished and alone,

fine artist In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork. ...

Mary Daas (Deborah Pollitt) braves a blizzard with her toddler son, Nello, to reach the remote forest home of her father Jehaan Daas (

). The journey has brought Mary close to death. Mary asks Jehaan to promise to care for Nello after she is gone. Jehaan keeps the promise, helping his grandson to become an intelligent and sensitive young man. As the two live a very poor existence, Nello ( Jesse James) and Jehaan make ends meet delivering milk to the nearby city of Antwerp, where they are welcomed and respected by the community. One afternoon on their way home, they encounter a

Bouvier des Flandres The Bouvier des Flandres is a herding dog breed originating in Flanders, Belgium. They were originally used for general farm work including cattle droving, sheep herding, and cart pulling, and nowadays as guard dogs and police dogs, as well a ...

dog beaten and left for dead in the woods. Taking him home, Jehaan and Nello nurse the dog back to health, with Nello naming him Patrasche; the boy and his new friend are inseparable thereon. With Jehaan's guidance, Nello hones his skill as an artist with Patrasche as his subject; his artwork comes to closely resemble that of his mother. Nello soon introduces Patrasche to his lifelong companion and artistic muse Aloise (

Madylin Sweeten Madylin Anne-Michele Sweeten (born June 21, 1991) is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Ally Barone, Alexandra "Ally" Barone on the popular family sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2005). Personal life Sweeten was bor ...

), daughter of the local mill owner Nicholas Cogez ( Steven Hartley). Meanwhile, Nello and Jehaan struggle to appease their wicked, heartless landlord Stephens ( Andrew Bicknell). Despite this plight, Nello sets his hopes on winning a famous art contest to gain respect from the art world. Aloise wholly supports her friend in this endeavor, as does the gregarious local blacksmith William (

). Nello gains a mentor when he meets artist Michel La Grande (

) by the statue of

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...

outside the Cathedral of Our Lady. After defending the boy against Patrasche's vagrant first owner, Michel brings him into his study and begins his tutelage, though he leaves for business in Rome soon afterward. As the years pass, Nello (

) stays close with Aloise ( Farren Monet Daniels) and they become engaged during their visit to a gypsy circus. Nicholas, disapproving of the match, forbids Nello from ever seeing Aloise again, despite protestation from his wife Anna ( Cheryl Ladd). Nello finds some comfort in Michel, who has returned from Rome to help his pupil continue his education. Not long thereafter, Stephens accidentally burns down Nicholas' mill; visiting with the Cogez's servant Millie, he had been smoking a pipe in the nearby shed and fell asleep. The next morning as the town inspects the damage, it is discovered that Nello had secretly visited Aloise the night before, to give her a birthday gift. Stephens uses this as evidence of Nello's guilt of committing an act of revenge. Furious, Nicholas believes the lie and smashes Aloise's gift and blames Nello for starting the fire while Jehaan comes to Nello's defense. Thereafter, Stephens takes advantage of the town's new distrust of the boy by taking over his milk delivery route. After Jehaan suddenly dies, Nello and Patrasche are evicted from their home by Stephens. Though William (who still trusts the boy) offers the two a place to stay, Nello insists that he has work to do. On Christmas Day, Nello eagerly awaits the results of the art contest to be announced by Michel, but he loses to Robert Kessler (Julien Bosman), son of the Mayor of Antwerp (Fred Van Kuyk). Nello and Patrasche then find themselves back in the cold in the midst of a blizzard, just like Mary once was. As they wander along a dirt path, Patrasche sniffs out Nicholas' wallet buried in the snow; it contains a vast sum of money. Nello returns the wallet to the Cogez Mill and departs before Anna can offer him a meal, leaving Patrasche behind so that he might have a comfortable future. Nicholas then returns to the mill, distraught that he has lost his family's life savings. He becomes enraged upon seeing Patrasche until Anna explains what happened. At dinner, the family is quietly pensive until Millie reveals the truth of what happened to the mill. Horrified, Nicholas bands together his family and neighbors to find Nello. Patrasche runs ahead of the group and disappears into the storm. Meanwhile, Nello returns to Antwerp and seeks shelter in the Cathedral just as Patrasche approaches. The two lie down to rest in front of the Rubens painting The Descent from the Cross. Nello dreams of him and Patrasche dying and being brought to the next life by Rubens himself where they rejoin Jehaan and finally meet Mary. Witnessing his own funeral, Nello is torn between staying with his family and returning to life. Mary insists that it is not yet time for him to pass on and that she will always love and be with him. Awakening, Nello is greeted by the search party; Aloise had realized that Nello would have gone to the Cathedral to see the Rubens. Nicholas falls to his knees and begs the boy's forgiveness for the accusations made against him. Michel then enters, having seen the villagers running for the Cathedral, and presents Nello with the medal he won in a previous edition of the art contest. Nello then remarks how (as his dream reveals) Michel knew his mother, to whom Michel referred as his "gifted student". Michel is shocked, at which Anna explains that Mary never told anyone that Michel was Nello's father, for fear of a scandal. Michel and Nello embrace as Michel thanks God for finally bringing father and son together. Outside the Cathedral, a star shines brightly.

Cast

as Jehan Daas *

as Nello * Jesse James as Young Nello *

as Michel La Grande * Cheryl Ladd as Anna Cogez * Steven Hartley as Nicholas Cogez *

as William the Blacksmith * Andrew Bicknell as Stevens * Farren Monet Daniels as Aloise *

as Young Aloise * Fred Van Kuyk as Mayor Kessling * Frederick Oxby as Young Robert Kessling * Julien Bosman as Robert Kessling * Bouli Lanners as Constable * Anne Grandhenry as Stephen's Wife

Publicity

Jon Voight and Cheryl Ladd gave several interviews to promote the film in the summer of 1999.'Dog of Flanders' answers Cheryl Ladd's prayers
/ref>

Critical reception

Stephen Holden of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' did not care for the film:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dog of Flanders (1999 film), A 1999 films American drama films Films based on children's books Films based on works by Ouida Films shot in Bruges Films shot in Brussels Warner Bros. films Films about dogs Works based on A Dog of Flanders 1990s English-language films 1990s American films