Review of Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) by Lilly M — 15 Apr 2011

A must see for dog lovers. This movie did a fairly good job of getting across a number of themes from the original story, involving a professor who came into possession of a puppy, initially tried to get rid of him, and eventually fell in love with the dog.

They bonded in a special way, and the dog began accompanying the professor to the train station to see him off, and returning to the train station at night to meet him upon his return. When the professor died suddenly one day at work, the dog continued to wait, for 10 more years until he, too, finally died.

I felt the movie was well done, but if you liked it I'd encourage you to have a look at the original film, the 1987 movie "hachi monogatori" which is in Japanese but with English subtitles available.

After seeing the original Japanese film, I could clearly see what was lost in the remake. If I had to explain the difference between the two movies in one word, the original Japanese movie was haunting.

It more clearly brought out the things Hachi had to deal with after his companion and best friend was suddenly gone. It stayed with me for a long time. In comparison the 2009 remake seemed somewhat bland.

Both are good movies however, and as I said, a must see for dog lovers.