HACHI: A DOG'S TALE
4 out of 5 stars

OMG. every dog owner or anyone who's ever owned a dog needs to watch this movie ASAP! probably one of the best dog movies i've ever seen, and the story is sooooo touching... :)


based on a true story about an akita (japanese hunting dog) whose loyalty and devotion to his owner lasts for a lifetime... the movie starts with hachi the akita puppy traveling via plane and train to get to his new owner from the mountains of japan. his crate/kennel breaks, and hachi the puppy escapes, only to be found by prof. parker wilson (the fab richard gere), professor of music at some university. he travels via train (the real kind) to work, and he is now stuck w/ this cute lil' puppy. his wife (joan allen- pretty much playing herself) is opposed to the idea of caring for a puppy, esp. one that'll grow up to be ginormous, but eventually she realizes the love between hachi and parker... even the daughter loves hachi, and they decide to keep him. years go by, and hachi always follows parker to work, where he leaves via train to go to work. he knows that his master arrives @ exactly 5pm everyday, so he waits for parker's arrival. tragedy strikes in the form of a heart attack, but hachi continues on to keep a regular vigil for parker. (that's when the waterworks start...)

a beautiful portrait of a beautiful dog w/ even beautiful music accompanying it! what's not to like about hachi the puppy's lil' face? ADORABLEZ! (i can't help but "aww" throughout this) i think it's also great that the director decided to film certain shots in monochrome...just like a dog would see the world. (certainly putting an emphasis that this is hachi's perspective of the story) a very sweet and moving movie about the power of canine loyalty to its master and the special bond between man and man's best friend. in this case, you really see why dogs are called just that... ;)