Hachiko - a wonderful friendship

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Movie
German title Hachiko - a wonderful friendship
Original title Hachi: A Dog's Tale
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2009
length 93 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
Rod
Director Let Hallström
script Stephen P. Lindsey
Kaneto Shindo
production Richard Gere
Bill Johnson
Vicki Shigekuni Wong
music Jan AP Kaczmarek
camera Ron Fortunato
cut Kristina Boden
occupation

Hachiko - A Wonderful Friendship (Original Title: Hachi: A Dog's Tale ) is an American family film by Lasse Hallström from 2009, which is based on the story of the famous Japanese Akita dog Hachikō and his unconditional loyalty to his master, a professor the university, is ajar. The role of university professor is played by Richard Gere . Joan Allen and Sarah Roemer are cast in leading roles.

The film is a remake of the film drama made by Seijirō Kōyama in 1987 under the title Hachikō Monogatari .

action

Parker Wilson, a university professor, runs into an Akita puppy at the Bedridge train station on his way home from work . Trying to find the owner of the dog is unsuccessful. Wilson takes the puppy home with him. Wilson's wife Cate is not happy about this and only accepts the animal when she sees the joy it gives her husband. Hachiko, the name on the dog's collar, accompanies its new owner to the train station in the morning and expects the returnee there every day at 5 p.m. sharp. But one day the music professor dies of heart failure during a lecture . On this day, Hachiko waits in vain for his master at the train station.

Mrs. Wilson moves out of Bedridge and leaves Hachiko to her newly married daughter Andy. But the dog runs away to the train station, which will be his new home. As he continues to wait for his master day after day, Hachiko has become a celebrity over the years.

When Mrs. Wilson comes back to town after ten years to visit her husband's grave, she sees Hachiko waiting at the train station as always and sits down next to him. Some time later the faithful dog dies and meets his master again on the “other side”.

The story of Hachiko is told by the professor's grandson as part of a school assignment in which the primary school students give a lecture about their personal hero.

Locations

Most of the filming took place in the US state of Rhode Island , particularly in the cities of Bristol and Woonsocket (this location is specifically mentioned in the film) as well as at the Columbus Theater Arts Center in Providence and at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston . The station pictures were taken in Woonsocket at the former train depot of the Providence and Worcester Railroad and its forecourt (1 Depot Square, Woonsocket, RI 02895). The brick building now serves the Blackstone Valley Heritage. There is a copy of the original dog memorial from Shibuya in Japan on the square .

Some shots were shot in Japan .

background

Hachiko as a puppy was played by a Shiba dog. The older Hachiko was represented by three different Akita dogs named Chico, Layla and Forrest , depending on the stage of life and requirements .

reception

Cinema release and DVD

Hachiko premiered in the United States on June 13, 2009, where the film was screened at the Seattle International Film Festival . The premiere in Japan took place on July 8, 2009 in Tokyo. In Germany the film was released on November 12, 2009, in Austria on November 20, 2009.

The film was also released in the following countries: Brazil, Italy, Russia, Spain, Armenia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Sweden, Croatia, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Indonesia, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, South Africa, Hungary, Argentina, Norway, Aruba, France, Panama, Denmark, Chile, Portugal, Uruguay, Malaysia, Peru, Kuwait, Bolivia, Greece, Poland, Serbia, in the Slovakia and Ukraine.

The film was released on May 12, 2010 by EuroVideo with a German soundtrack on DVD.

criticism

“Can animal films be realistic? You could, but most are not. Lassie, Flipper, they all touch the heart. They are so cute, so loyal, so cute - just like Hachi, the main actor in Lasse Hallström's animal drama, in which you shouldn't forget your handkerchiefs. A film for the run-up to Christmas that shows a really perfect world and a wonderfully happy family. "

- kino-zeit.de

“Dogs embody the longing for unconditional loyalty and playful innocence. Values ​​that many people miss in their lives. But not the residents of Bedridge, whose gentleness and kindness at times reminds one of the staged illusory world of the ' Truman Show '. In his striving for harmony and his warmth of heart, 'Hachiko' is far too beautiful to be true. You can blame the film for that - or just enjoy it. Conclusion: Sensitive, a little too shallow tragic comedy about an unconditional love that goes beyond death - a must for dog lovers. "

- Cinema

“Hallström succeeds in turning the story, which is ostensibly close to kitsch, into a fine, quiet hymn to loyalty and friendship - funny moments included. Gere's portrayal is pleasantly reserved and honest, everything radiates a soft, flowing harmony, which is wonderfully underlined by the soft music of Oscar winner Jan AP Kaczmarek. Nobody can get around the emotion - at least nobody who knows true dog loyalty. "

- Wiener Zeitung

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release for Hachiko - A wonderful friendship . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , September 2009 (PDF; test number: 119 526 K).
  2. ↑ Hans-Ulrich Pönack: Hachiko - A wonderful friendship Deutschlandfunk Kultur, November 11, 2009, on the deutschlandfunkkultur.de site
  3. ↑ Hachiko (DVD) Wonderful friendship at filme.wahu.eu
  4. ^ Review on kino-zeit.de , accessed on November 23, 2009
  5. ↑ Cinema.de: film review , accessed on December 17, 2009
  6. ^ Wiener Zeitung : Criticism on wienerzeitung.at , 18. November 2009 (accessed November 14, 2013)