A Dog of Flanders: A Bit Too Much To Bear

Is this thing worth your time?

If you like stories where every single person is either an absolute saint or a cartoonishly cruel landlord, then sure, sit down for A Dog of Flanders. It’s definitely not for anyone who gets impatient when movies spend twenty minutes just looking at a sad dog. If you’re looking for a light watch on a Sunday, look elsewhere. You’ll probably hate it if you have zero tolerance for 1930s-style dramatic pauses.

Frankie Thomas is fine as Nello, but the real star here is the dog. I mean, obviously. That dog has more range in his tail wags than most of the adults in this town have in their whole faces. 🐕

There’s a moment where the kid is just staring at a painting, and the music swells up so loud I thought my speakers were going to pop. It’s like the film is trying to grab you by the shoulders and yell, "LOOK AT HOW POOR HE IS!" It’s a bit much, honestly.

Some odd observations:

• The windmill looks like it was made out of cardboard and hope.
• I’m pretty sure the same goat shows up in three different scenes in the background, just eating the same patch of grass.
• The way people talk in this movie… nobody actually speaks like that, right?

It reminds me a little bit of the earnest, slightly stiff feeling in The Slacker, though they are obviously totally different kinds of movies. There’s that same sense of being stuck in a time where every line of dialogue has to be a moral lesson.

The town scenes feel kind of empty, like they couldn't afford enough extras to make the place actually feel like a market. It makes the whole thing feel like a stage play that got lost on its way to a real film set. Still, O.P. Heggie brings a kind of gravelly, tired kindness to the screen that makes the whole thing almost worth the slog. He’s the only one who doesn't seem like he’s trying to win an award for "Most Dramatic Sigh."

Honestly, the ending is just a wreck. You know it’s coming, but the movie really leans into the tragedy like it’s the only thing that matters. It’s bleak, man. Just real bleak. Maybe skip this one if you’ve had a bad week.