Mitsui Co. Ltd., 1987, 107 minutes
Available here; to see a video montage, go here.
Hachiko is one of the most celebrated dogs in canine history, an Akita who has embodied fidelity for several generations of Japanese people; he's immortalized by a statue in Tokyo's Shibuya Station. This dog's story is unforgettable: So devoted was he to his owner, a professor at the University of Tokyo, that Hachiko would walk himself to the train station and patiently await his master's return every afternoon - even years after the professor dies during class.
This film portrait of a truly extraordinary dog begins with the most common of scenarios: a teenager pesters her parents for a dog, then promptly loses interest in her new pet, who is then adopted by one or both of her parents. But the professor does more than adopt Hachiko - the two become an inseparable pair, as the man lovingly picks fleas off the dog's coat, joins him in the tub for a bath, and cedes the sofa to his loyal best friend. And when his wife enters the room to express consternation at finding her husband asleep on the floor, with Hachiko passed out on the couch, besotted dog lovers will surely side with the guys, not her.
Even more touching than these details of the dog-human bond are the scenes revealing how bad luck can and, sadly, often does befall even the best of dogs, who become victims of circumstance just as people do. Through no fault of their own, great dogs can find themselves homeless; all deserve a second chance at a loving home, but not all get that chance.
Still, the movie's final images leave one hopeful, for it's a deeply felt depiction of the "Rainbow Bridge," that place halfway between Earth and Heaven where we are reunited with our beloved dogs. Except in this case, the human predeceases the dog, so we see the "bridge" from the dog's POV. And from that vantage point, it's a rosy place indeed. So if you didn't previously believe in the Bridge, this movie might just make you rethink. By that point, you may need more than one box of Kleenex - but you'll be grateful for the opportunity to spend time with a truly inspirational dog, and to experience life, love, and loss through his beautiful eyes.
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