**Some Spoilers may be ahead**
One fine day, I was very surprised to find
Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) in the Top 250. I am skeptical of IMDB ratings in general, but the Top 250 list has led me to some good and great movies. So, I decided to give it a shot.
This movie is pure dog-p**n with cute dogs looking at you, generating
a rush of oxytocin throughout the length of the movie. When I was watching, I was thinking "Dogs sure look cute, but what else has this got?" and it is still my feeling now.
I found it trying hard to be emotionally manipulative (It's really by the numbers, much like how
music is produced these days), but without the intended effect on me. The plot has some issues. For instance, the target audience of dog lovers will find it really hard to empathize with the rest of the family which does not care a bit about the dog ("If you want to go, that's OK too" and opening your gate is not exactly what dog lovers do, especially when the said dog is going to live another 10 years at the mercy of other people). It does lead to that one great moment when a family member meets the dog which was well done (You got me there, Hallstrom!).
I then decided to watch the original movie on which this is based,
Hachi-ko (1987). I reasoned that being the Japanese version, set in the proper 1920-30s time period and having a higher IMDB rating, it should be far better.
I generally found it to be a better movie than the US version (which had to explain the simple act of puppy arriving as some sort of divine intervention because how else do you explain a Japanese Akita puppy in the US?). It features the great Tatsuya Nakadai in the lead. It is far more realistic in some sense (like removing fleas from the dog. In the US version, dogs are too clean and never do doggy things like getting mud all over them. I wonder if they even piss. They are that pristine because an accident has to happen to spoil their pristineness (There's one exception)). At least, the family is not uncaring (and the reasons they give for not taking the dog with them are explained) and the circumstances that lead to Hachi becoming a stray dog have plausibility. But, in contrast to the US version, others caring for Hachi and his celebrity status are left out, probably to make the ending stick. But, these are minor issues I am willing to overlook.
My biggest issue with this movie is the dog "actor". I haven't seen anybody who is as uninterested and uninvolved with fellow actors as that dog. He just doesn't give a damn - no eye contact (even with the supposed owner, except when he is obviously hunting for treats in Tatsuya Nakadai's pockets when they are walking), no face contact (he is generally looking elsewhere when people are talking to him) and he doesn't once wag that tail. That dog deserves a Razzie!
Combining the best aspects of both versions together, you have a Movie I liked, but it exists only in my head!
hyeah:
