One afternoon my husband and I were browsing the internet trying to find a movie to watch. We came across a Richard Gere movie that neither of us had ever heard of before. It came out in 2009, so it was a newer movie. And it was based on a true story, which intrigued us. We spent the next hour and a half immersed in the wonderful tale of a loyal Akita dog named Hachi and his master who was played by Richard Gere. I’ll be telling the entire story here, but it really isn’t giving anything away. This movie was more about portraying the special bond between Hachi and his master in a very moving and emotional way. However, a word of caution. Have a box of tissues handy before watching this film. It will certainly move the most hardened of hearts out there.
In the first scene, it is modern day and you see a young boy in front of a classroom talking about his personal hero, who is his grandfather’s dog named Hachi. The next scene takes us back to the 1920’s and shows the boy’s college professor grandfather named Parker Wilson, played by Richard Gere, and how he came to own Hachi. An Akita puppy was being sent from Japan to the United States and somehow falls out of his cage and ends up in an American train station. No one at the station knew where the pup came from or who he belonged to. So Parker ends up taking the dog home for the night and, of course, they have an instant bond. The puppy did have a collar on with just a symbol attached. A Japanese professor told Parker that the symbol meant “Hachi” which means “good fortune” in Japanese and that perhaps he and Hachi were meant to find one another.
Over the coming months, Parker and Hachi became inseparable. We see Parker in his backyard valiantly trying to teach Hachi how to fetch a ball as other dogs like to do. Time after time he throws the ball, but Hachi shows no interest and refuses to cooperate. Parker thought that was strange and he mentioned it to his friend, the Japanese professor. The professor told Parker that Hachi would only fetch the ball and bring it to his master when there was a special reason for it.
From the beginning, Hachi followed Parker every day to the train station where Parker took the train into the big city to go to work. During the day, Hachi sat on a patch of grass right near the train station in the middle of the small city and waited patiently, each and every day, for the train to pull back in and he’d greet his master coming home from work. A few of the townspeople got use to seeing Hachi sitting there and would talk to him and feed him throughout the day. And the ritual repeated daily. Remember, this was back in a day when things were more simple and free and there were no leash laws.
Many years go by. One day Parker was leaving the house to walk to the train to go to work like he does every day. Only this time, Hachi is barking and does not want Parker to go. Parker leaves anyway because he doesn’t want to miss the train and be late for work. Hachi then picks up the ball with his mouth and follows Parker to the train station. Parker then sees the ball in Hachi’s mouth, and was surprised. He takes a few moments to play fetch with him before boarding the train. Master and dog had several fun moments of play, and then Parker grabs the ball and leaves for work. Hachi appears sad and walks over to his little patch of grass outside the train station to dutifully wait for his master’s return.
The next scene shows Parker at the college where he teaches. He’s giving a lesson to his students and playing with the ball in his hand. Suddenly, Parker collapses in front of his students. We find out that he had a heart attack and dies. We remember now that the Japanese professor said that Hachi will only play fetch when there was a special reason to. And apparently what happened that day was that special reason. That evening, we see Hachi still waiting at the train station, huddled in the cold and dark, waiting for Parker’s return that was not coming. Eventually, a family member comes to get him and take him home.
Hachi was inconsolable. It’s so sad how we cannot communicate with our animals to tell them exactly what is going on so they will understand. After Parker died, his wife decided to sell their house and move away. So Parker’s daughter and her husband took Hachi in. But Hachi kept his daily routine. Many scenes follow in the movie showing Hachi getting older with time, and sitting on his patch of grass every day and watching each train coming in to the station with sad, expectant eyes.
Nine long years pass, and Parker’s wife came back to town one day to visit. As she steps off the train, she is startled to see Hachi sitting there on his little patch of grass. She then realizes that Hachi is still waiting, after all these years, for Parker to come back. She sits next to him and strokes his fur, overwhelmed by his fierce loyalty, and whispers comforting words to him. She sat there for several hours to keep him company. I dare anyone to watch that scene and not have a tear slide down their cheek.
As I’m sitting on the couch, sniffling through my wad of tissues, we see Hachi continuing his ritual, throughout many seasons, but each day we can see him getting older and moving more slowly. In Hachi’s last scene, we see him laying in that patch of grass. He’s very old by now and it’s dark and snowing. Hachi is dreaming. And if a dog can have a smile on his face, Hachi did. He was dreaming of Parker getting off the train and smiling at him and calling his name. He was dreaming of running around the yard and happier days playing with his master. As Hachi was having sweet dreams, he slowly died in his sleep.
The movie is not done with wrenching a few more emotions from you. We’re told how this is a true story. The townspeople were so moved by Hachi’s story, that after he died, they built a statue on that little patch of grass, right next to the train station. Hachi’s statue is still there, to this day, and you can see those sad eyes still waiting for his master’s return that never comes.
Remember that young boy in the classroom who was telling this story to his classmates? That was Parker’s grandson, and in the last scene of the movie, we see the grandson walking down the very same railroad tracks, with a small Akita puppy trailing right behind his heels. And that small puppy was named, what else, Hachi. …. Got any tissues left? I’m fresh out.
