Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

A drama based on the true story of a college professor's bond with the abandoned dog he takes into his home.

Director:

Lasse Hallström

Writers:

Stephen P. Lindsey (screenplay), Kaneto Shindô (motion picture "Hachiko monogatari")

Stars:

Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Sublett	...	Michael (as Robbie Collier Sublett)
Kevin DeCoste	...	Ronnie - 11 years
Rob Degnan	...	Teddy Barnes (as Robert Degnan)
Tora Hallstrom	...	Heather (as Tora Hallström)
Donna Sorbello	...	Myra
Frank S. Aronson	...	Milton - The Butcher (as Frank Aronson)
Troy Doherty	...	Sal
Ian Sherman	...	Student Pianist

Storyline

In Bedridge, Professor Parker Wilson finds an abandoned dog at the train station and takes it home with the intention of returning the animal to its owner. He finds that the dog is an Akita and names it Hachiko. However, nobody claims the dog so his family decides to keep Hachi.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | loyalty | japanese | puppy | friend | 

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Taglines:

A true story of faith, devotion and undying love.

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Germany]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

12 March 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

Siempre a tu lado

Filming Locations:

Bristol, Rhode Island, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£442,753 (UK) (12 March 2010)

Gross:

£1,048,876 (UK) (26 March 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stage 6 Films, Inferno Distribution, Hachiko

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Parker uses Netscape 3.0 on Mac OS (classic) to browse the Internet on October 26, 1996 (the date of baseball 1996 World Series, Game 6). This is historically correct: the browser was released on August 19, 1996. The websites he visits appear to be large static images, which contain the whole page pre-rendered separately.

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Goofs

The puppy has obviously grown several weeks between its departure from a monastery in Japan and being found at a train station presumably less than a day after.

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Quotes

Ronnie - 11 years: Where did Grandpa find Hachi?
Cate Wilson: Ronnie, actually, Hachi found your grandfather.

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Connections

Referenced in Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence: Richard Gere (2008)

User Reviews

So Touching and Real!

I just saw this movie today, and I'm so glad I did.

It is based on a true story and it's only natural that the movie is great because the real story itself is very touching. 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 a-little-hard-to-believe elements here and there just to make it more entertaining.

Sometimes they show things through Hachi's eyes as opposed to human eyes, which helps you relate to him and understand how he felt and what he thought then, as well as emphasizes that Hachi is the main character of the movie.

This is not just a kids' movie. In the end everyone including myself was crying because we were so moved. It is a must-see.