Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

Content by Tony Macklin. Originally published on April 23, 2026 @ tonymacklin.net.

A very popular topic on Social Media these days is the special relationship between dogs and humans. There is an abundance of heartfelt sequences of them.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale is a film, released in 2009, that deserves rediscovering. Its initial source is the film Hachiko Monogatari, which was the number one hit in Japan in 1987. It is based on an actual event that led to a statue of a dog being erected outside the Shibuya train station in Japan.

Hachiko Monogatari was written by Kaneto Shindo. He is credited as co-screen writer with Stephen P. Lindsey on the 2009 American version of Hachi: A Dog's Tale.

Shindo lived to age 100 (1912-2012).

Hachi: A Dog's Tale is a shimmering paean to loyalty. It is heartbreaking, haunting, and uplifting.

It's the story of the spiritual relationship between a dog and his human friend. Professor Parker Wilson (Richard Gere) commutes daily to his job. One day on his way home at the train station he comes across an abandoned Akita puppy, and he takes it home. As in the Japanese version, his wife (Joan Allen) is not welcoming.

But the dog Hachi and Parker build a special relationship.

When Parker dies, almost every day Hachi waits outside the station. For nearly ten years.

I give away the plot, because the film is so much more than its plot. It is more a film of penetrating, unforgettable emotion.

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom (Chocolat, 2000), Hachi: A Dog's Tale captures the soul of companionship and the rare spirit of loyalty.

It deserves a statue.