Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

A college professor bonds with an 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

Top Rated Movies #210 | 1 nomination.

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 Hallström	...	Heather
Donna Sorbello	...	Myra
Frank S. Aronson	...	Milton - The Butcher (as Frank Aronson)
Troy Doherty	...	Sal
Ian Sherman	...	Student Pianist

Storyline

Commuting by train, music professor Parker Wilson finds an Akita puppy, whose cage broke unnoticed during shipping, leaving his destination unknown, and since the station can't care for it and the dog catcher warns even such cute ones may not be adopted in the two weeks allowed, he kindly takes it home. His bossy, jealous wife Cate initially makes Parker swear it won't stay, but by the time its' clear nobody will claim him and an adoption candidate is found, she agrees to keep the dog, who won over their daughter Andy and her fiance Michael at first sight. Parker's Japanese college friend Ken inspires naming the pup Hachi(ko), and is pleasantly surprised when Parker successfully tackles the challenge to get it to fetch, which Akitas don't usually do. Hachi makes a habit of waiting for his equally doting master at the station every evening, but after a cardiac crisis, Parker dies. Hachi refuses to accept this, being moved to Michael's home as Cate moves out, waiting for a master who ...

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Plot Keywords:

dog | japanese | loyalty | waiting | human animal relationship | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

When they confront the skunk in the backyard the scene ends with the wrong assumption that skunks spray backwards which is untrue. Skunks will stand on their front paws, arch their backs and spray forwards over their heads.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Heather: So even if Columbus got lost and wasn't the first to discover America, he's still my hero. He was really brave to sail in such a tiny ship over a really big ocean. And because of him, we get Columbus Day off of school.
Teacher: Thank you Heather. Uh, Ronnie? Tell us about your hero.
Ronnie - 11 years: [writes HACHIKO on the blackboard] Hachiko was my grandfather Wilson's dog. Everyone called Hachi a mystery dog because they never really knew where he came from. Maybe Hachi escaped from a dog pound. Or maybe he ...

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Crazy Credits

Message near the end of the credits: "Although beloved by many as a family pet, Akitas are recommended only for dedicated and experienced dog owners. To learn more, please visit the American Humane Association at www.americanhumane.org and the American Kennel Club at www.akc.org"

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Best Dog Movies (2019)

User Reviews

Will not leave you the same

I think at the end of the day, what matters in a movie is how different it leaves you after you've watched it. It could be technically brilliant and leave you in amazement about how a narrative can be structured, leave you thinking about an issue from a totally unique perspective or just leave you thinking.

But if you believe that the impact a movie has on you is important - you cannot afford to miss this movie. I've never written a review in the past 7-8 years of using IMDb but signed up just so I could say how much I loved this movie.

I read a couple of reviews talk about crying during the movie and thought it odd. I can't remember the last time I cried during a movie - but towards the last 15 minutes of the movie I didn't only cry - I cried from the depth of my heart, not out of sadness but from a much deeper sense of realization the power of true love and how it can manifest itself. You hear so many times that there is 'God' in all of us if we can realize it - at the end of this movie you will know why it's true.

It's a must watch movie.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Germany]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

12 March 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

Hachi: A Dog's Tale

Filming Locations:

1 Depot Square, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,749,646

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