Hachiko

😭😭😭😭

No pun intended - and certainly no innuendo behind it. If you see one that is on you - all kidding aside, let's dive into it. I have not yet seen the Japanese original - the one that is based on the real story about the dog Hachiko (the dog seems to have a different name here too and also is a different breed if I got that right from other people) ... I did watch the US movie with Richard Gere though. I kinda liked that one too - I reckon I am a bit of a sucker for anything with animals in it! Though I think I have to re-watch Marley and me, that did rub me the wrong way. Here though you have a Chinese version of the story. And I understand if some people take issue with that. If you are one of them, maybe it is best not to watch the movie at all. For everyone else, the story is gripping and the telling of it will bring you to tears ... nothing surprising in that sense. Anyone with a heart beat will feel something watching this surely? Not calling you Shirley! All kidding aside, very well acted and well edited too. Great cinematography ... and score! Really well done overall! With great family scenes too ... everything you need! And if you ever had a dog ... you will understand ...

Well, I just chucked $18.00 at a PRC approved film, and to be honest I'm not sure how I feel about that. But, to the film. Dogs, or any animal, are a huge responsibility. You have to train them, get them socialized and acclimated to humans, groom them, feed them, take them to the vet, and keep them happy. But, for al that they are loyal and loving to a fault. I did not see the American version with Richard Gere, instead I just heard of this remake tonight. Intimately shot with a lot of care, and exceptionally well directed, this film hits all of the technical marks as well as dramatic and artistic ones. It does pull at the heart strings between two-thirds to three quarters of the way through, and is in actuality a four act or perhaps even a five act play with different emphasis in different acts. Dare I say it, but the dog hits all of his marks, as does the all Chinese cast. No moments are overstated here, as one often expects in a lot of Asian productions. This is pure dramatic film making at some of its finest, and I say that with a bit of a grudge since the PRC's film makers copied yet another western (American) intellectual property, but this time to good effect. No one tries to out play Richard Gere as an actor here. The film got somewhat sappy towards the end, and just went a bit overboard for me at the very end. But in the end everything worked well. There are some practical questions of how the dog survives some of this time towards the end of the film, but the film's emphasis isn't on his survival but how animals see the world and how it explains their devotion, or just ignorance about life and death. The image was a touch out of focus at the Meteron in San Francisco tonight, so it was hard to keep up with the subtitles, and the image was slightly fuzzy, but otherwise I could follow the film. A pretty endearing movie. Check it out.

The original story went by like this - Hachiko, an Akita dog born in 1923, formed an unshakeable bond with his owner, Professor Hidesaburo Ueno, in Tokyo, Japan. Every day, Hachiko would faithfully accompany Ueno to Shibuya Station in the morning and greet him upon his return in the evening. Tragedy struck in 1925 when Ueno passed away unexpectedly at work. Unaware of his owner's passing, Hachiko continued his daily routine, waiting for Ueno at the same spot in Shibuya Station every afternoon. This loyal vigil lasted for over nine years, until Hachiko's own death in 1935. The film is a Chinese retelling of the story of Hachiko, the loyal Akita dog. Like the American film 'A Dog's Tale (2009)' starring Richard Gere, this movie explores the unwavering devotion of dogs to their owners.. While the dog here isn't an Akita, the premise of the film remains the same - dogs will always be loyal and devoted to their owner. I personally found this movie very touching. As a little piece of trivia - Hachiko is derived from two words "Hachi" meaning 8 and "ko" meaning prince. In this film, the dog was named "Ba Tong" derived from a tile in the game Mahjong that has 8 circles. Anyway, the film has managed to cut a lot of onions for me. Maybe another decade I'll get to see a retelling from another country of Hachiko - the world needs to be told of such undying love.

(Second time sending this since it was deleted for no reason whatsoever.) Hachiko was a real Japanese dog from the breed Akita Inu, this breed has a peculiarity that isn't found in most breeds, they are extremely loyal to one person. I have watched the brutal 1987 original and the lame 2009 American rip off, both show an Akita as the dog the story was based on, however this Chinese adaptation changes the meaning of Hachiko's name, which was supposed to be "lucky", to "eight dots" - a mahjong reference . Also, another huge issue is how Hachiko, or rather Batong, isn't an Akita Inu, but rather a Chinese pastoral dog. So this adaptation pushes away core elements that makes the story of Hachiko so important, even the American adaptation didn't do that, but the Chinese adaptation changed those to make it seem like it was something that happened in China. Such a shame they felt like they should change those elements of the story.

For the record:i: A Dog's Tale (2009) is not the original film based on this amazing dog's life. The Richard Gere film was itself a remake of a 1987 Japanese film. This retelling is from China and is not without its charm. It hits the right emotional beats too, even though the soundtrack might seem a bit schmaltzy to American ears. The tear jerk moment (when you, the audience realize what the dog cannot)) is still a gut punch and the entire film is shot beautifully. I think most have a problem with this version because of the breed of dog used. Both previous films made about this dog were historically accurate in their depiction of a very particular breed: The Akita . This was an integral part of the story. The change to a Chinese breed kind of negates the well earned reputation that the Akita has for their unflappable loyalty to just one person. It is the main reason I could not give it a higher score.

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