Hachi: A Dog's Tale

American drama film

Was directed by Lasse Hallström, written by Stephen P. Lindsey and Kaneto Shindo, and produced
by Richard Gere

Hachi: A Dog's Tale premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 13, 2009, and its
first theatrical release was in Japan on August 8, 2009

Main characters:  Hachi, Professor Parker Wilson, Cate Wilson; Parker's wife, Jasjeet; an Indian hot
dog cart vendor,  Andy Wilson; Parker and Cate's daughter, Ken Fujiyoshi; professor of Japanese
and Parker's friend, Ronnie;Parker and Cate's grandson.

Summary: When Ronnie gives a presentation at school about a personal hero, he tells the story of
his grandfather and his dog, Hachiko.
Parker Wilson, a professor of music finds a lost puppy on the station platform and takes him home
for the night.
The puppy remains unclaimed, and the two grow close while he takes it everywhere with him. Ken, a
Japanese professor friend, tells Parker that the dog is a breed called an Akita and that the Japanese
character on his collar tag is the number eight - "hachi". Parker's wife, Cate, eventually warms to the
dog—but Hachi sleeps outside in his own shed.
One spring morning, Hachi, now grown, digs under the fence and follows Parker to the station. He
refuses to go home; Parker misses the train. He leaves Hachi with Cate and gets the next one. That
afternoon, Hachi hears the train horn and jumps the fence. Parker is surprised to find Hachi waiting
for him and even more surprised to learn that he has not been waiting all day. The dog somehow
knew when Parker was due home. A daily routine begins: They walk to the station together, Hachi
goes home, and he returns when Parker's train is due, at 5 p.m.
Parker tries in vain to train Hachi to do normal dog things like fetching. Amused, Ken explains that
Akitas cannot be bought.
One winter morning, Hachi behaves strangely, but then follows Parker to the station with a ball, and,
to Parker's delight, fetches it for the first time. After they play for a while, Parker puts the ball in his
pocket. Hachi barks and barks and watches the train leave. Parker is holding the ball when he
suffers a fatal stroke in his classroom. Hachi waits. At 9:30 p.m., Michael comes to get him. From his
shed, Hachi watches the family. While Parker's human friends and family gather at his funeral, Hachi
goes to the station to wait.
Cate sells the house and moves away. Hachi goes to live with Andy and Michael and their baby,
Ronnie. One day, he escapes and follows the train tracks to Bedridge. Andy and Cate find him and
bring him home, but Cate realizes the dog is pining and opens the gate. He licks her hand—and
runs.
Every day at 5 p.m., Hachi waits for his best friend. The hot dog seller, Jasjeet, and others feed him. 
After a reporter writes a story about him, people send cards and money to the station. Ken reads the
piece and comes to town to help, only to learn how the community loves Hachi. Ken speaks to Hachi
in Japanese: He too, misses his friend.
Ronnie tells his class that Hachi and his grandfather taught him the meaning of loyalty, that you
should never forget anyone you have loved.
The class applauds. At the school bus, Ronnie is met by his dad and a tiny new puppy which they’ve
also named Hachi. The film ends with Ronnie and the puppy walking down the same tracks Hachi
traveled years ago.

The film teaches love, loyalty, devotion. Reminds us that we are not eternal, that it is necessary to
appreciate each other, to appreciate happy moments. If you think about it, it turns out that the dog
knows how to love so much, be faithful, wait, endure! As I am sentimental I cried a lot for this movie,
and not just one day, but every time I remember this movie I cry, and I can't watch it anymore
because I'm afraid of Hachi's pain, maybe for that I understand his pain and I waited and I still wait.
From the moment I watched this movie, Hachi became my favorite character in all the movies. I
recommend this film to absolutely everyone because each of us should learn something from Hachi,
such as true friendship, patience and love.