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Monday 12 May 2014

Hachi...

*Hachi*
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The most amazing true story in the world ... my favourite movie .
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Hachi: A Dog's Tale is a 2009 drama film. Based on the true story of a faithful Akita Inu, the titular Hachikō, it is directed by Lasse Hallström, written by Stephen P. Lindsey and stars Richard Gere, Joan Allen, and Sarah Roemer. The subject is a remake of the 1987 Japanese language film, Hachikō Monogatari (ハチ公物語?) literally "The Tale of Hachiko".
Hachi: A Dog's Tale premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 13, 2009, and its first theatrical release was in Japan on August 8. Sony Pictures Entertainment decided to forgo a U.S. theatrical release. The film was given a UK theatrical release on March 12, 2010, courtesy of Entertainment Film Distributors, and opened in over 25 countries throughout 2009 and 2010. Total foreign box office was $46.7 million as of January 2011.
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Students are giving oral presentations about personal heroes. Ronnie's subject is his grandfather's dog.
Years earlier, a puppy is sent from Japan to the United States, but escapes when his cage falls off the baggage cart at an American train station.
Professor Parker Wilson finds the abandoned dog and when the station controller refuses to take the puppy, he takes it home with the intention of returning the animal to its owner. Initially, Cate Parker does not want them to keep the puppy.
Parker learns that the dog is an Akita. The dog has not been claimed when he returns to the station the following morning, so he takes him to the college, where Ken, a Japanese professor, suggests that perhaps the two are meant to be together.
He translates the symbol on the collar as 'Hachi'—Japanese for the number 8—signifying good fortune. Parker decides to call the dog Hachikō.
Parker attempts to play fetch with Hachi, but he refuses to join in. Cate receives a call from someone wishing to adopt the puppy, but having seen how close her husband is with Hachi, she tells the caller, "Hachi has already been spoken for. "
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Parker continues to be mystified by Hachi's refusal to do dog-like activities like chase and fetch.
One morning, Parker leaves for work and Hachi follows him to the train station; he refuses to leave until Parker walks him home.
Later in the afternoon,
Hachi walks to the station, to wait patiently for Parker to come home.
Parker relents and walks Hachi to the station every morning.
After Parker's train departs, Hachi walks home, returning in the afternoon to see his master's train arrive and go home together. They continue to do this every day.
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One day Parker gets ready to leave and Hachi barks at him and refuses to join him.
When Parker does leave, Hachi chases him while holding his ball. Parker is surprised but pleased that Hachi is finally willing to play fetch the ball with him.
Not wishing to be late for college, Parker catches his train despite Hachi's barking. Later that day Parker is teaching his music class, still holding Hachi's ball, when he suddenly suffers a fatal heart attack and dies.
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At the train station, Hachi waits patiently as the train arrives, but there is no sign of Parker.
He remains, lying in the snow, for several hours, until Parker's son-in-law Michael (Ronnie Sublett) comes to collect him. The next day, Hachi returns to the station and waits, remaining all day and all night.
As time passes, Cate sells the house and Hachi is sent to live with her daughter Andy (Sarah Roemer), Michael, and their baby Ronnie. However, at the first opportunity,
he escapes and eventually finds his way back to his old house and then to the station, where he sits at his usual spot, eating hot dogs given to him by Jasjeet, a local vendor.
Andy arrives soon after and takes him home, but lets him out the next day to return to the station.
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For the next ten years, Hachi waits for his owner. His loyalty is profiled in the local newspaper. Cate comes back to visit Parker's grave where she meets Ken, and says she can't believe ten years have gone by.
Walking past the station, she is stunned to see Hachi maintaining his vigil. Overcome with grief, Cate sits and waits for the next train with him. At home, Cate tells the now ten-year-old Ronnie about Hachi
Hachi continues his daily walk to the same spot in front of the train station to his final day when he recollects his life with his master.
He then imagines Parker coming out of the station and the two greeting each other. Hachi is last seen lying on the snow, alone and still.
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                                   A photo of his statue in front of the Shibuya train station.

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