Hachi-A Dog's Tale

We had a decent idea about a film being made on "Hachiko" when we visited Tokyo. It is only after we met our friend K, we seriously considered watching it because the first question she asked when she heard about our recent trip to Tokyo was "Have you seen Hachiko"?. Within next few days we did find time to watch Hachi-A Dog's Tale and we were glad to made that trip as well as watching this absolutely brilliant movie.

  

"Hachi is my hero" is the subject chosen by a young boy, Ronnie as a vocal presentation in his class. Ronnie is the grandson of the protagonist, Parker and "Hachi" his dog. Thus begins the tale.

A breed called Akita, born in Japan has been shipped to the United States. The address tag hooked to the wooden crate where the puppy is kept is lost. Now out of the box, the puppy wanders off in the Rhode Island train station. Parker Wilson, a music professor discovers it on a stormy night on the way to his home. Scooping the Akita up in his arms, he goes to the station manager to help him find the owner, but he refuses to the responsibility.  Left with no other choice Parker takes him home much to the dismay of his wife, Cate. Next day at the station, he finds out nobody is looking for the pup and overcrowded animal shelter won't take him either. Convincing his wife it is only a stop-gap arrangement, Parker keeps the dog and names him Hachi. In no time, Professor and puppy develop a strong bond and Cate finally accepts the fact that Hachi is here to stay.

Hachi grows up witnessing Parker's daughter's wedding and birth of his grandson. In this period they fell into a routine that is of Hachi accompanying Professor to the train station every day in the morning to see him off to work and devotedly waiting outside the station to walk him home in the evening.

One day Professor collapses and dies during a class. Unbeknown to it, Hachi waits for him. Professor's daughter's family try to take care of Hachi, but he is not happy and keeps returning to the train station waiting for his master to come. Almost 10 years passes, but Hachi still waits and waits with equal devotion and perseverance until his death.

The last 30 minutes had us broken down completely crying our eyes out. We don't remember any other films having this kind of enormous effect on us. Our heart ached endlessly when we saw Hachi going to the station and waiting for his master until his last breath. It is the tale of dog's pure love unwavering and unfailing to his human companion. It engulfed us in so much sadness and pain. It also depicts the love between spouses, love between father-daughter, and a caring close knit community.

We read afterwards Richard Gere saying "I read the script, cried, and couldn't say no." With his twinkling eyes, easy smile, and humility Gere fits in the character of Parker effortlessly. We knew his part was short lived, but its his picture pops in our mind every time we saw Hachi's longing stares. And he is one of the produces too.

However the real heroes are the three dogs playing Hachi at its dog year. It is spell bounding to see various range of emotions through facial expressions, those puppy dog eyes, and body language (if we may say that to dogs). Hats off to the dog trainer who did an excellent job. The powerhouse performance sure to melt the coldest of hearts.

Based on a true story, Hachi is one of the most cherished love stories in Japanese history. We are at loss for words appreciating the commendable job of director, Lasse Hallstrom and screenplay writer, Stephen Lindsey. we are almost sure we must be the last ones to watch this tearjerker. If not, we would highly recommend this to anyone who would listen to us.