Hachi : A Dog’s Tale (2009) 7/10

Starring : Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Sarah Roemer, Jason Alexander, Erick Avari, Davenia McFadden
Director : Lasse Hallstrom
Running Time : 93 mins

On his way home from work college professor Parker Wilson (Gere) finds a stray dog that he can’t help but fall in love with. Eventually convincing his wife Cate (Allen) to allow him to keep the dog, he names him Hachi after the symbol on his collar and starts walking him back and forth to the train station every day and becomes his constant companion.

I jokingly commented that the last movie I’d watched that was being shown on TV happened to have Richard Gere in it as well (Nights In Rodanthe) and commented that he’d probably die in this movie too. Spoiler alert! He does! This is an incredibly sad movie – based on a true story from Japan – but most of the sadness comes from the dog, with the rest of the cast putting in middling performances at best. Gere’s heart attack scene was almost comical, and the treatment of the dog after he dies was boarding on cruel.

You’ll like this if you liked : Marley And Me