Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

This movie is wonderfully written, it's one of my favourite films and I cry each time. Based on a true story of devotion the dog keeps going back to the train station to meet his owner who had a heart attack and died so is obviously he is not coming back, he becomes the train station mascot and people raise funds to help look after the welfare of the dog. it's lovely but you will need plenty of soft tissues to wipe away the tears.It's a classic.

**A cute, sweet and tender film, which imports an originally Japanese story to the USA and which promises to make many children insistently ask their parents for puppies.**

I'm not a fan of dogs... in fact, I'm one of those people who never had dogs, and that's why I didn't develop a great admiration for these animals, despite recognizing that they are excellent companions and can make a difference for many people, in different situations (for example, as part of police units or as guides for the blind). But the truth is that I feel every day how uncomfortable dogs can be, if they fall into the hands of careless owners, or those who do not teach them properly: they howl when alone, they make a lot of noise when other animals pass by, they run to sniff and lick other people without their owners paying attention if they want to have contact with their animals and, worse, they defecate anywhere without their owners taking care to collect the droppings. Yes, the education of dog owners in Portugal is non-existent in most cases. The fault, of course, lies entirely with the imbecile human owners, but it helped me not to harbor sympathy for these animals. The fair, in these things, always pays for the sinner.

However, even the human being with less affinity for dogs will recognize the value and the moving beauty of this film, loosely based on a true story that took place in Japan, before the Second World War, and which has already given rise to at least one Japanese film, in 1987. What this film does is to take this Japanese story and transport it to the United States, telling it as if it had taken place on US soil, but keeping a lot of elements, implicit and discreet, that link us to Japanese culture (the dog breed, the dog's name, even the martial arts). I have nothing against remakes and I have to admit that Hachiko's true story deserved a movie... but the truth is that there are a number of similar reports around the world attesting to the loyalty and unparalleled attachment of various animals to their owners. So, if the idea was just to take Hachiko to the US, maybe it would have been better if the script had created a new and entirely fictional story, albeit inspired by the real Hachiko (and other dogs).

Having made all these considerations, I believe that we owe a tribute to Richard Geere for another exceptionally well done and very palatable work, in which the actor manages to monopolize our attention in a friendly character, that touches our emotional side. However, and if we exclude the three dogs that participated in this film and played the role of the protagonist, there is virtually nothing more to say about the cast! The remaining actors only say what they are told to say, without adding anything truly positive, nor receiving interesting and developed material for their respective characters. This includes Joan Allen, who appears to have dropped in this movie by parachute.

On a technical level, there are several positive aspects to be highlighted, such as the pleasant cinematography, the good choice of filming locations and the intelligent use of the sets and some visual and sound effects. It's not a flashy movie, but it does everything it can to touch our hearts and can even feel corny and sentimental, especially towards the end. I handled it very well, but of course not all people will like it. The choice of animals for this movie was really good, and they are just cute and adorable in the extreme. And we can't forget about that incredible soundtrack, based on sweet piano melodies. It all helps this movie to be exceptionally sweet and suitable for family evenings. However, I leave a note for parents: if you don't want your children to ask you, in an insistent way, to adopt a puppy, don't let them see this movie.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale is the rare remake that earns its tears honestly. Lasse Hallstrom takes the real story of Hachiko, the Akita who waited nearly a decade at a Tokyo station for an owner who had already died, and relocates it to small-town America. That move could have flattened the legend. It does not. Richard Gere plays Parker, a music professor who finds an abandoned Akita puppy at the train station and takes him home almost by accident.

What follows is barely a plot. It is a routine. The dog walks Parker to the station every morning and waits for him every evening, and the film trusts that repetition to carry all of its emotion. There is no villain, no rescue set piece, no third-act contrivance. When Parker dies, Hachi keeps returning to the same platform at the same hour for years, and the camera is patient enough to let that loyalty read as grief rather than instinct.

The restraint is what makes it land. A weaker film would drown every beat in swelling score and slow motion. This one lets the Akita's stillness do the talking, and the silence ends up heavier than any speech could be. It is a story about faithfulness measured in years, and it never once cheats to get the reaction it wants. Bring tissues, then sit with the harder question of why a dog waiting at a station still wrecks people more than a century after the real Hachiko did it.

For our full take on Hachi and why it endures, here is the review: https://dogwithblog.in/hachiko-movie-review/