Movie of the Month: "Hachi: A Dog's Tale"

 In spite of we Yankees’ proclivity to remake everything for practically no reason, I’ll make an exception for this month’s movie just because it’s so damn cute.

Essentially a white-washed version of the 1987 film “Hachiko Monogatari” (The Tale of Hachiko), it’s no wonder that the self-proclaimed dog lover and director Lasse Hallström chose to retell (yet again) the true life story of the Akita dog known only as Hachiko.

If you’ve ever been to the platform at the Shibuya Station in Tokyo (or the “Jurassic Bark” episode in Futurama) then you’re probably familiar with the story of this famed canine who literally waited every day over a period of ten years for his dead master to return home on the train.

This American version, like the dog in question, is unusually faithful to its source material. A university professor (Gere) happens upon a lost Akita puppy at a train station one wintry night on his way home. After struggling with the “to take or not to take” question, the professor relents and what unfolds is predictable yet wholly worthwhile.

You’d have to be some kind of an asshole if your vascular muscles don’t contract just a little bit when you watch this. And though it often smacks of sentimentality, one can't help but identify with the dog's stoicism, calmly weathering the seasons. But like all good movies in which the animals “star”, it is the human element which ultimately takes over and guides us through the night.

In a day when devotion seems conditional, to witness something so unconditional is almost strange to the heart, cold to the touch if only because we can barely fathom it ourselves.

Great for animal lovers, family viewings or a lazy Saturday night.

***

Directed by:
Lasse Hallström

Adapted by:
Stephen P. Lindsey

Based on the screenplay by:
Kaneto Shindô

Produced by:
Jeff Abberley ... executive
Julia Blackman ... executive
Julie Chrystyn ... associate
Roxanna Farzaneh ... associate
Sam Frankel ... co-executive
Richard Gere
Warren T. Goz ... executive
Bill Johnson
Paul A. Levin ... associate
Tom Luse ... co-executive
Paul Mason ... executive
Stewart McMichael ... executive
Dwight Opperman ... associate
Dean Schnider ... co-producer
Jim Seibel ... executive
Shin Torisawa ... producer: Japan
Michael Viner ... associate
Vicki Shigekuni Wong

Cast:
Richard Gere..................................Parker Wilson
Joan Allen......................................Cate Wilson
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa...................Ken
Sarah Roemer................................Andy
Jason Alexander.............................Carl
Erick Avari.....................................Jasjeet
Davenia McFadden........................Mary Anne
Robbie Collier Sublett....................Michael
Kevin DeCoste..............................Ronnie - 11 years
Robert Degnan..............................Teddy Barnes
Tora Hallström..............................Heather
Donna Sorbello.............................Myra
Frank Aronson..............................Milton - The Butcher