I was babysitting my little niece and watched a cartoon. I thought, oh hey, might as well watch this. Little did I know that this particular cartoon is the most sad, heart wrenching story. I was completely unprepared for it, and kept thinking that "things will surely get better" for the main character, which is a boy who has almost nothing and even loses what little he has.
The name of the movie was "the dog of flanders". And the animation was Japanese.
I am not going to lie. I cried like a little #@&*.
Another movie that made me feel the same was Ghibli's Grave of the fireflies.
I've attempted to watch grave of the fireflies a few times, it's just like with god fathers, where I was too bored to finish either movies...
Read the wiki on the Nello en Patrasche on wiki just now.. That seems sad indeed..
-- was there any significant symbolism to his death?
To me, the strongest symbolism in the story was both the love and bond of family (including the dog), but also the realities of poverty and the cruelty of those who do not care about the well being of others. In the story they make it quite clear that the world is an unfair place, and not everyone gets a fair chance in life. But they do it without there being a clear villain, just people making decisions in their own interest. I think there was something truthful about the main character dying, and the message (be kind to those in need) would not have hit home if he had not.
There is also another symbolism in his death. He walked around in the cold with nowhere to go. Yet the doors to the church are open. It may not save his life, but he gets to see what he wanted to see most before he passes. When he dies, the animation makes it quite clear that he goes to heaven.
Interestingly, the girl who was not allowed to get near and play with him becomes a nun, working in the church where he passed away. There is no real explanation given, but you get the sense that she wants to repent for the cruelty of her father or maybe help out kids in need. In her father's attempt to keep her away from the poor, he made her choose a life to assist exactly those people he wanted her to shun.
