Tech credits are fine apart from the overuse of Jan A.P. Although he mostly avoids the maudlin, he does offer up some irritating doggie-cam moments, a sepia vision of the world through Hachi’s eyes that doesn’t serve any real purpose except to generate a cheap laugh or an “aww.” Hallstrom, worlds away from the sharp observations of “My Life as a Dog,” seems overly comfortable in the rut of sentimental comic dramas he’s fallen into. A scene near the end does allow her to show some real emotion, but even then it’s buried in a dog pelt. Indeed, all of the characters suffer from being defined almost solely by their relationship to the dog: Allen is almost wasted as the understanding wife forced to share her hubby’s caresses. Every one of the canines here evinces such sensitivity and charisma that the filmmakers felt obliged to run a disclaimer stressing that Akitas are not suited to casual pet owners.Īlthough Geregets points for being licked and jumped on and even sharing the bathtub with a dog, Parker isn’t one of his most memorable roles. As thesps who advise their colleagues never to work with dogs realize, it’s hard to compete with these natural scene-stealers. Pic’s main problem is that its human story lacks drama Hachi’s the central attraction. Even so, the dog’s silent distress and dignity will move all but the hardest hearts. If audience reaction at the screening caught is any indication, the theme of time passing and never forgetting the one you loved is most likely to resonate with older viewers. For 10 years, progressively more broken in body, he stands vigil at the station, his fidelity inspiring newspaper celebrity and subsequent donations for his care. When the day comes that Parker doesn’t get off the train, Hachi is unable to process the notion that his master will not return. The town’s many commuters, as well as station ticket agent Carl (Jason Alexander) and hot-dog vendor Jasjeet (Erick Avari), regularly witness the pair’s mutual affection. He accompanies Parker to the train station and returns again to escort him home every day. The dog gets his name when Parker’s Japanese colleague Ken (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) translates the tag on its collar as Hachi, the Japanese word for “eight.”Īfter an unidentified length of time passes, Hachi appears fully grown (now played by three regally expressive Akitas) and a bit more obedient. She’s ultimately persuaded that the rambunctious pup should stay when she sees her hubby on his hands and knees as he models the art of fetching. Sure that someone will claim the animal, Parker hauls it to the large home he shares with wife Cate ( Joan Allen). Pic segues to the cold winter night when Parker Wilson (Gere) finds the pooch (played by extremely cute but continuity-confusing Shiba Inu puppies of different sizes) on the local train platform.
HACHI A DOGS TALE (2009 FULL
His imaginary burg of Bedridge (here repped by Rhode Island’s Woonsocket and Bristol) is an idyllic bedroom suburb full of friendly tradespeople, apparently without a leash law and with no dog catcher in sight.Ī 2007-set framing story starts with 11-year-old Ronnie (Kevin Decoste) telling his class why his grandfather’s dog Hachi embodies heroism. Lindsay transposes the action to a small New England town in the 1990s.
Embarrassingly, for me it was the latter.Inspired by real events that occurred in 1920s Japan, as well as the 1987 Nipponese blockbuster “Hachiko monogatari” directed by Seijiro Koyama, the problematic script by Stephen P. Unfashionably slow, the film offers gentle observations on grief and pets (the companionship, the breed-bores new owners become, the disruption to domestic harmony and hygiene) which will no doubt have you squeezing out tears, either of boredom, or slushy emotion. Gere comes into his own for the bonding: all twinkly, hard-won wisdom, flashing just a tantalising glint of misspent youth. So, man bonds picturesquely with dog before tragedy hits. It kept up a loyal vigil outside the station used by its master for a decade after he died and was commemorated with a statue. The dog is a Japanese Akita (which looks something like a super fluffy blow-dried German shepherd) and the story is tenuously based on that of a real dog in Tokyo in the 1920s. Richard Gere (ageing with such elegance you half-expect him to appear in velvet monogrammed slippers) is a music professor who takes in a lost puppy. L asse Hallström dishes up more classy mediocrity with this brazenly uncomplicated treat for dog lovers.