Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

That was an excellent one.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

A college professor (Richard Gere) finds an abandoned puppy on his hometown train station. Despite the protests of his wife (Joan Allen) he brings the puppy back with him, to look after it until its owners are found. Turns out that the dog ends up staying with them for good.The film is an Americanized version of the 1987 Japanese film Hachiko Monogatari, which in turn is based on real-life events that took place in 1920s Tokyo. The basic premise being the same in all three. A professor, an akita dog and a story about loyalty.That being said, I think I would have rather watched the Japanese film. Because quite honestly, while I can see why some people might really love this film, it feels so patronizingly Hollywood to me. All the usual tricks are here. The attempts to mystify the Far East, the touching montages, the sappy music, the candles and tears in the corner of the eye, the idyllic small town charm. They even slap a GoPro on the dog, just to make sure we understand that it is its story. Quite honestly I expected the dog to start talking at some point.Plus there's an absolutely pointless framing story featuring the professor's grandson. Absolutely pointless, pure waste of time and film reel.Still, the film is professionally made, looks very nice and if there was ever only one man who could pull off this kind of story, it would have to be Richard Gere. Quite honestly I had more problems with the characterization of the dog than I had with him.Not really a good movie in my opinion, but it has its numerous fans, and I can see why. If the story interests you and you like dogs, go for it.

Hachi: A Dogs Tale is a masterpiece and a classic. It will move you to tears, and make you laugh. It will even exite you - yes, despite what you might think, there actually are moments of genuine suspense in this movie! It's by no means a thriller, but it still manages to get your heart pumping! I almost jumped out of my seat during the scene in the garage! People need to see this movie, movies like this just don't come around often. In some ways, it even changed my own life for the better. When thinking about Hachi, I always strive to be better than I am, to never give up, and to always believe that anything is possible. This might be the most important movie you will ever watch! It really has everything, an exiting, thrilling and heartbreaking story, lovealbe and relatable characters that are incredibly portrayed by Richard Gere and Joan Allen. This is without a doubt Richard Gere at his absolute best. The fact that he never won the Oscar for this is an outrage. It should be studied (and probably is) in acting schools everywhere because what they have managed to achieve here is nothing short of magical! Every scene, every cut is brilliantly concieved, there are nothing in this movie that is filler or unnecessary. You sit on your toes and are constantly floored by just how magnificent this movie really is. It will entertain you while at the same time cause you stop and think about what's really important in life. I will cause you to question your very own existence, to think about what is possible, what a dog is capable of and what really makes us all human. WOW! This film is history. It stands alone. It raises the bar for how movies as a medium should be viewed in our society. See this movie now, and then see it again a thousand times. Then watch it again.

There are movies which don't bore you as many times as you see them. This is such a movie.The movie shows how much the attachment between human and animal can reach. The loyalty of the dog to its master and the treatment and respect of the protagonist to his dog just overwhelms you with emotions.The movie is just perfect.

I watced it and I was bored. It doesn't deserve 8,1 IMDB. It is long. Very long. I started sleeping in 45. Minutes.If you wanna sleep, It is best choice for you.