Dog movie starring Richard Gere gets major buzz at Seattle Film Festival


Posted on Jun 25, 2009
By Julia Szabo

Tomorrow is Take Your Dog to Work Day and a perfect occasion to commemorate a dog who certainly would have accompanied his owner to the office, if only he'd lived in the right time and place.  That Dog is Hachiko, the famous Akita, whose devotion to his owner is the stuff of legend.  Every day before the morning commute, Hachiko would walk alongside his owner to Tokyo's Shibuya station to see him off, then return to the station in the evening to greet him and walk him back home.

The station is home to the statue of noble Hachiko, who has also been immortalized in books, and now comes another celebration of this remarkable dog: The feature film "Hachiko: A Dog's Story," slated for release in October, is an American retelling of this stranger-than-fiction story, which was committed to film once before by Japanese director Seijiro Koyama.

The new film, shot on location in Rhode Island, recently premiered at the Seattle Film Festival to rave reviews.  Already, a teaser trailer suggests that this new treatment of the Hachiko story might soon merit inclusion on critic' lists of great dog movies; it has even invited comparison to the recent blockbuster Marley & Me. 

Co-starring with Richard Gere (also a producer on the film) are 23 dogs portraying Hachiko at various life stages, from playful puppyhood to dignified old age; also in the cast are the excellent Joan Allen and Jason Alexander.  The film's director, meanwhile, is Lasse Hallstrom, who is no stranger to helming movies about dogs; if "Hachiko" is even half as good as Hallstrom's "My Life as a Dog" - and by all indications, it is - audiences should prepare to be blown away.

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