Looking for a sad animated film from the early 2000s(?)

Hello!

I’m looking for a movie I watched when I was a young child, 2000-2010. It was at least 15 years ago, if not closer to 20, so while I will try to write down everything I remember there is a very likely chance that the details are wrong/mistaken/misremembered.

This movie was an animated film with a darker, more serious tone. It reminds me almost of grave of the fireflies, or plague dogs; dark, sad, and with a similar, semi-realistic animation style. I do not recall if it was actually an anime, or a western film in a similar style. I really want to find the film again because I’d like to understand what was actually going on in the film, and because I eventually grew up to be a big fan of darker animated films, even if I never watch them again, haha.

The plot revolved around a child (a boy, I believe) who, for some reason, was orphaned and homeless. He was living in a windmill, and his biggest dream was getting to see a painting that was hidden behind a large curtain. At some point, the windmill burns down, and he loses everything, save for his(?) dog. The movie continues to go downhill from there, and eventually ends with the child dying in front of the finally revealed painting alongside his dog.

I believe it had some anti-war or anti-capitalism tones, as in the father going off to war/trying to find a job ultimately results in children being orphaned and slowly dying, much like Fireflies.

The painting was in/on the wall of either a museum or an important building, as the boy kept getting chased away from it. I vaguely recall his dirty feet being mentioned during one of the times he was chased off.

I don’t remember if the dog was truly his. I do believe that he had a friend, a little girl, who I vaguely remember may have been the daughter of the person who actually owned the land the boy’s windmill-home was on.

I watched this film once when I was a child, no older than 12, so somewhere in the early 2000s, but I can’t say how old the movie actually was. The tone and style may point to 90s or 80s, however.

Because it was so long ago and of the high likelihood of some of these details being wrong/misremembered/out of order, I encourage films that don’t completely line up with what I’ve listed here.

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