A boy and a dog against a world that doesn't care about either of them. The animation renders 19th-century Flanders with such quiet beauty that poverty looks almost painterly, which makes the cruelty of it hit harder. This is a story about love that costs everything, told with the restraint of something written when sentiment still meant something. You watch it knowing how it ends. You watch it anyway.

Nello Daas is a talented young artist in 19th-century Belgium, living in a village near Antwerp and selling milk in the city market with his sick grandfather. At his side is Patrasche, the loyal dog he rescued from a cruel owner who nearly killed him. When his wealthy landlord sends Nello's best friend Alois away to school to keep her from a peasant boy, Nello finds new purpose in an art contest honoring Rubens, whose prize includes a chance to study art in Antwerp. As hardships pile up against his dream, Patrasche stays with him through every trial. Set in the Flanders countryside, this drama film retells the classic story of a boy and his devoted dog.