Patrache, a Dog of Flanders - Made in Japan

Patrasche, a Dog of Flanders - made in Japan.

Documentary made by Didier Volckaert and An van. Dienderen. 2007 / Running time 85min. / Subtitled in Vlaams, English and Japanese. (Available on DVD PAL and NTSC)

Based on 'A Dog of Flanders' (1872) by Ouida

For this film they have been researching archives and libraries for two years. They visited England, Italy and Japan. They found 35mm and 16mm prints of all USA films ever made based on the book. They found first print books both from the UK, USA and the only copy in the world of the 1908 Japanese first print. They were able to interview numerous people involved in the making of the legendary 1975 animated series including the producers, the director and the foreign distributor. They filmed about 40 hours of interview and obtained almost every printed and filmed source important for the documentary.

External links

Official website : [http://www.dogofflanders.be/] / Produced by Elektrischer Schnellseher : [http://www.elektrischerschnellseher.org]

Synopsis:

Every day Japanese tourists visit the Antwerp Cathedral in Flanders. In front of Rubens’ Descent from the cross they start to cry. Nobody in Flanders has any idea that they are moved because of a tiny book written in 1872 by the British Louise de La Ramée. The novel recounts a honeysweet story about a poor boy Nello and his dog Patrasche. The two main characters die in each other’s arms in front of the Rubens’ painting. Today this book, "A Dog of Flanders" is taught in Japanese high schools, it is a forgotten classic in the UK and the States and has inspired numerous Hollywoodfilms in the States and TV series in Japan. The most important of them being the Japanese animated series of 1975 that counted 52 episodes and influenced the Japanese culture intensely (30 million television Japanese viewed the last episode. Many of them can still sing the series opening song, … in Dutch!

By contrast, the novel was translated into Dutch only in 1987, on initiative of Willy Vandersteen who also devoted one album of his influential cartoons Suske en Wiske to the story. Despite this album and some minor tourist attempts the people of Belgium are hardly interested in A Dog of Flanders and its many admirers worldwide. Why has the author of the novel situated the story in Flanders? How does she represent Flanders? And why are Japanese and Americans so attracted by this story? What images have they creating of Flanders based on this story? And why is the story so unknown in Flanders, the place of origin that give rise to the American and Japanese imaginary versions of Flanders?

Patrasche, a Dog of Flanders - Made in Japan is more then just an historical documentary. It's also a laboratory of the image. It is a prism, through which the viewer can experience how flu reality is and how a small book can stigmatize <> create an entire culture.