Directing
"Who’s coming along to Verapas? This old song from Ghent refers to an obscure part of Belgian history: the former Belgian colony of Santo Tomas de Castilla in Guatemala. Leopold I not only wanted to exploit valuable natural resources but also aimed to reduce crime in Belgium."
A workaholic businessman provides well for his son San, but the emotional neglect since his mother died a few years ago grimly affects the shy knave. In San's heroic daydreams, a cool father leads him into modern Quichote exploits, yet even those tend to turn sour. Slipping, like his grades, into rebellion and school incidents, San, who just went on a fugue, becomes the prime suspect after a schoolgirl turned novice drug slut has been beaten into a coma. The clueless police and irresponsible school staff will probably blame San. Her friend, a regular drug harlot, is the worried-sick father's only lead to find San and the truth, and shamelessly exploits that.
Today this book, A Dog of Flanders is taught in Japanese high schools, it is a classic in the UK and the States and has inspired numerous films and TV series in Japan and the States. The most important of them being the Japanese animated series of 1975 that counted 52 episodes and influenced the Japanese culture intensely. Many of them can still sing the series opening song, … in Dutch! Patrasche, a Dog of Flanders – Made in Japan is a laboratory of the image. It is a prism, through which the viewer can experience how reality is and how a small book leads to a stereotyped perception.
