Pic’s main problem is that its human story lacks drama Hachi’s the central attraction. Even so, the dog’s silent distress and dignity will move all but the hardest hearts. If audience reaction at the screening caught is any indication, the theme of time passing and never forgetting the one you loved is most likely to resonate with older viewers. For 10 years, progressively more broken in body, he stands vigil at the station, his fidelity inspiring newspaper celebrity and subsequent donations for his care. When the day comes that Parker doesn’t get off the train, Hachi is unable to process the notion that his master will not return. The town’s many commuters, as well as station ticket agent Carl (Jason Alexander) and hot-dog vendor Jasjeet (Erick Avari), regularly witness the pair’s mutual affection. He accompanies Parker to the train station and returns again to escort him home every day. The dog gets his name when Parker’s Japanese colleague Ken (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) translates the tag on its collar as Hachi, the Japanese word for “eight.”Īfter an unidentified length of time passes, Hachi appears fully grown (now played by three regally expressive Akitas) and a bit more obedient. She’s ultimately persuaded that the rambunctious pup should stay when she sees her hubby on his hands and knees as he models the art of fetching. Sure that someone will claim the animal, Parker hauls it to the large home he shares with wife Cate ( Joan Allen). Pic segues to the cold winter night when Parker Wilson (Gere) finds the pooch (played by extremely cute but continuity-confusing Shiba Inu puppies of different sizes) on the local train platform. His imaginary burg of Bedridge (here repped by Rhode Island’s Woonsocket and Bristol) is an idyllic bedroom suburb full of friendly tradespeople, apparently without a leash law and with no dog catcher in sight.Ī 2007-set framing story starts with 11-year-old Ronnie (Kevin Decoste) telling his class why his grandfather’s dog Hachi embodies heroism. Lindsay transposes the action to a small New England town in the 1990s. Inspired by real events that occurred in 1920s Japan, as well as the 1987 Nipponese blockbuster “Hachiko monogatari” directed by Seijiro Koyama, the problematic script by Stephen P.

Hachi a dogs tale cast