Nostalgia is a disease

Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is a tear-jerker about a lovable dog which are almost always box office winners as Marley & Me proved last year. Hachi is a drama based on the true story of a college professor’s bond with the abandoned dog he takes into his home. 
　　 
It’s an American take on the story of Hachiko – the famous Akita from Japan who continued to come to meet his master at the train even 9 years after his death. There’s a statue memorializing the dog in Japan where it’s a well known story. Those who know the legend will realize where the story is heading, but it plays out effectively because Hallstrom handles the tear jerking moments discreetly. Hachi is a loving but willful companion. 
　　 
For instance, he refuses to play fetch, despite Parker’s many training attempts. He also ignores his master’s instruction not to follow him to the train station for work every day. He even shows up again promptly at 5 p.m. to wait for Parker to step off the train again. One of the things that sets this movie apart from the other movies that involve animals is how they stuck to reality instead of throwing in some hard to believe elements here and there just to make it more entertaining. Unlike other Japanese remakes, this movie actually gives credit to the original story so that you don’t get the sense that Hollywood wants to call it its own. All the actors in the movie do a superb job in making you feel as if you were a part of the community embracing the dog. 
　　 
I don’t think I’m giving anything away in saying that Richard gere’s character, Parker, dies about two-thirds of the way through the film — after all, it’s the dog’s behavior after his master’s death that made his story so unforgettable. When I looked around the theater though, every single person was crying and I saw a lot of red eyes as I left the Men’s restroom. The film really amps up the pulling of heartstrings at this point, as the dog continues his increasingly grim journey to the train station every afternoon, eternally hopefully that his master will greet him again. However, it’s also a heartwarming tale of loyalty, about how people and dogs are more than just friends and, I guess most of all, about how a dog’s love for its master never fades. 
　　 
Richard Gere was fantastic in this movie, he bonded really well with the dog and it never felt like watching an actor at all, it genuinely seemed to be a movie with his own dog. Hachi is a film without explosions, computer graphics, and violence. A family film with a message. Of course, this might not attract everybody, providing that majority of movie audience today is highly dependent on fast paced, action packed scenes, and aggressive, often rude highlights of any other nature. 
　　 
However, for those who can do without it, and keep alive their interest even in a simple story, who won’t shy away from emotional involvement, they shall easily find themselves consumed by its mere beauty and warmth. But it is the pacing which most cripples the film. At least a dozen slow fade blackouts exaggerate the emotional side of the film, thus, lessening the impact. The passage of time is portrayed very poorly, with nearly 15 years passing and few physical alterations made in any human character. These are just small nitpicks though in an otherwise great film.


Several things disturbed me about this movie, mainly that NO one (except the Richard Gere character) appeared to love dogs. Why is it that after Dr. Parker dies and Hachi keeps returning to the train station, NO one makes an earnest attempt to adopt him and help him get over his grief. Even Parker's daughter lets him leave her home and become a vagabond. Parker's WIDOW does the same thing when she encounters Hachi at the train station 10 years later. Did anyone involved in writing this screenplay even LIKE dogs? For me, this movie wasn't about the dog's loyalty to his dead friend but about the absolute ignorance and pathetic impotence of the humans who let a wonderful dog live and die in a hopeless, homeless existence. The movie had me sniffling at the end in spite of my anger at the soul-less human characters. This makes me suspect that the producers of the film came up with a plot that would appear to be sincere to invoke tears, but lacked any input from someone who truly loves animals. This film is manipulative, phony and depressing. Worst dog movie EVER. (From an animal lover with 3 dogs, 2 cats, 4 rabbits and a guinea pig.)


I'm a vet. Fast speed and special effects maniacs may not like the movie. People living in fast pace cities and in pvt. firms do not understand sentiments of such wonderful animals usually. The movie is based on a real event. It would have been better if it be shot around same station,in same town,in Japan and where Hatchi lived with a Japanese family. This movie is a lesson for those in a family who do not care for associated animal after death of real loving owner. Selfish people even don't even love their parents,brothers,sisters,and others(what to call of dogs). Such people are nonsocial elements enjoying fruits of civilisation of which they themselves are never apart. Such rascals exist more or less in every country.