Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog (2004)

As a Labrador puppy, Quill is sent to live with a couple, Isamu and Mitsuko Nii, who work as volunteers, training guide dogs (seeing eye dogs). When he grows to an adult dog, he is taken to... See full summary »

Director:

Yôichi Sai

Writers:

Ryohei Akimoto (novel), Kengo Ishiguro (novel)

Stars:

Kaoru Kobayashi, Kippei Shîna, Teruyuki Kagawa

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kaoru Kobayashi	...	Watanabe Mitsuru
Kippei Shîna	...	Tawada Satoru
Teruyuki Kagawa	...	Isamu Nii
Keiko Toda	...	Yoshiko Watanabe
Tomoka Kurotani	...	Masumi Kubo
Yukika Sakuratani	...	Mitsuko Watanabe
Yawara Matsuda	...	Etsuo Watanabe
Tarô Ishida	...	Hiroshi Totsuka
Kenji Mizuhashi	...	Yuichi Sakai
Chie Sakagami	...	Yoko Kamata
Mantarô Koichi	...	Kawamoto
Kuidaore Uchuutei	...	Yoshinaga
Kiyomi Tanikawa	...	Kyoko Yaguchi
Kouzou Satou	...	Ishibashi
Mariko Miyamoto	...	Housewife

Storyline

As a Labrador puppy, Quill is sent to live with a couple, Isamu and Mitsuko Nii, who work as volunteers, training guide dogs (seeing eye dogs). When he grows to an adult dog, he is taken to a guide dog school, by a friendly, yet firm trainer Satoru Tawada. Although Quill is a little slower than the other dogs at the school, he seems to have an unusual 'empathy' and remarkable patience with his trainers. Tawade decides that Quill would be the ideal guide dog for Mitsuru Watanabe, but Wanatabe, a lonely and ill-tempered middle aged man, isn't as enthusiastic - he would "would rather sleep than be dragged around by a dog.". From here, the story is narrated by Wanatabe's daughter, Mitsuko, and slowly, Wantanbe is rehabilitated, venturing into the outside world, and learning, not only to trust other humans, but the animal at his side who guides him.

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Plot Keywords:

nobility | dignity | kindness | guide dog | dog | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Quill website [Germany]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

18 May 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$699,117 (Japan), 12 March 2004, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,602, 29 June 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$14,075, 15 July 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eisei Gekijo, Nippon Shuppan Hanbai (Nippan) K.K., Shochiku Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Môdôken Kuîru no isshô (2003)

User Reviews

Cutest dog movie in history

This film deserves to be called the "cutest dog film in history"!

Quill is an amazing movie! Its not only a true story, and the camera, well done! Maybe also the best Japanese family movie in years, in this part of the world anyway. Its entertaining, educational (brave quill!), good script, and something you would expect Disney to produce! And if you like dogs, its a must! Each time you will see a guide dog in the future, you will think of quill! What I like about the movie, it makes you think about dogs and their role in our society. Many times dogs don't have a specific role, whereas quill has a duty and bears lots of responsibility. He is a "role" model for his fellow dogs, many of which are taken to the hairdresser or dog shrink!