This is a movie only Review

This movie is also out under then name of "Hachiko- A Dog's Story".

I had seen a trailer for this movie and the dog who plays the role of Hatchi (a Japanese Akita) is so gorgeous, I just had to watch the film.

The movie is based on the true story of a puppy who is being sent from a Monastery of Buddist Monks to (we assume) the Japanese Royal Court (there are hints that "dogs like this are Royal Dogs") but on the plane journey the cage the dog is in comes open and the "To: " label becomes torn so no-one knows who the dog belongs to.

Richard Gere's character finds the puppy all alone on a train platform and he takes it home for the evening as the conductor at the train station will not put the puppy in the lost and found room.

The movie is centred around the dog and how it becomes a big part of Richard Gere's life- despite his wife's protestations about them having a dog and his endless attempts to train it. The main focus of the film is what happens after Richard Gere's character passes away and how the dog reacts.

All I am going to say (rather than going into any more detail...) is I do not normally cry at films, but at the end of this movie, I was hysterical. I balled my eyes out for about an hour. There is something about the story and especially when you realise it is a true story that just makes it unbearably sad!

I would recommend this movie to anyone who either needs a good cry, likes feel good films, likes family movies, likes dogs, thinks the puppy is cute, is a fan of family films or just likes the look of the dog on the cover.

There is a statue of the real Hatchi at Sapporo Station in Japan if anyone is visiting there. I am really glad this film was made into a mass audience movie by the folks at Hollywood as I think the story is just as delightful as it is heartbreaking. Keep a box of tissues at the ready.

I know it's not just me who had cries buckets at this film as a friend at work said his mum was even crying when she was trying to tell him about the film- so I don't think I am alone in my reaction to watching this movie.

The main cast are:
Richard Gere
Sarah Roemer
Joan Allen

This film gets an 8.1 out of 10 on IMDB which is a really high score!!