Little Crumb

Generations of Holland's young readers have grown up just wild about Harry . . . No, not Harry Potter, but Harry Volker, or, as he's nicknamed, Kruimeltje – literally, “Little Crumb,” child hero of a favorite storybook by 1920s author Chris van Abkoude. To mark the 70th anniversary of its publication, the Netherlands film industry released this handsome adaptation that became an instant hit. Little Crumb is a resourceful 10-year-old vagabond in 1921 Rotterdam, who like a Benelux Huckleberry Finn, has a knack for seeing through the hypocrisy and pretense of adults. The sudden death of his sulky guardian leaves Little Crumb all alone in the city, unless he can follow up on the few tentative clues to his real parents. Other street urchins, a stray dog named Mole, an aspiring writer, a popular pianist, even a silent-movie sensation named Charlie Chaplin are Little Crumb's allies; his foes are police, priests, dog-catchers, beadles and all other stern, grownup authority figures who preach the virtues of charity and selflessness but never practice it. Not since Oliver Twist asked for more gruel has an orphan so ingratiated himself with a nation of fans cheering him on. Oh, and we have no reports of a greedy film studio trying ot shut down kids' Little Crumb websites, either. (In Dutch with English subtitles)