Your story matters,
and many of the chapters in the book
of your life are yet to be written.
Hachi “Behind the Scenes” with Animal Trainer, Mark Harden
If you could peek behind the scenes of the film Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, would you?
Well, now you can with a new book titled, “Animal Stars: Behind the Scenes with Your Favorite Animal Actors.” If you head to Chapter 6, it’s written by Mark Harden, one of the talented animal trainers of Hachi: A Dog’s Tale.
In detail, Mark describes the role played by each of the three “Hachi” stars. You’ll learn how he transformed the 4-year old Akita (Forrest) to look and “act” like the aged Hachi at the end of the film. The make-up transformation was incredible alone, but Forrest had to be trained to walk and move like an elderly dog. It was a stellar performance from a True Star!
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Mark shares how he enjoys “the audible gasp from first-time viewers when Forrest, as old Hachi, makes his entrance” in the movie. It’s one of the most emotional scenes in the film. A real tear-jerker. Hachi was one of the highlights of Mark’s career and he says, “I will pass down memories of it to my grandchildren.”
Thank YOU for the memories!
Are you interested in the behind-the-scenes animal action? These dog actors went above and beyond, but there’s always was a human behind it all! To learn more...
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Thanks for the blog. Page 88 of “Animal Stars” has a nice color picture of Mark Harden, his wife Lori and Chico (whom he adopted after the completion of the movie).
NOTE: The picture seems to be there only in the Kindle (online) edition of the book. The paper version of the book does not have the photo, for some reason.
It is really a poignant scene that begins when we see the old Hachi for the first time. His once-gorgeous and shiny coat has now become dull, his tail and ears are down, the passage of time has weighed on him and he is walking slowly. That’s when it really hits us what he has given up, to pursue his vigil and his wait for Parker.
The camerawork for the scene is excellent. Hachi is not seen right away; instead, the viewer initially sees him partially hidden behind the fence and as the camera moves away from the fence, Hachi comes into full view, slowly walking on the sidewalk. The subdued and gentle music also adds to the effect. Truly a very moving and unforgettable moment and so beautifully captured.
Forrest as the old Hachi is really excellent. I love how the dog showed emotion when they crossed path again with the wife after 10 long years. The pain, regret and grief that connects them is felt at that scene alone. I wish the scene could have been longer like they could have shown more time that they are together and not that the wife left the dog again. It seems that Hachi just waited for the wife to return back to the town before he finally died. Hachi welcomed the wife but not the same welcome given to his master Parker.
The only thing I wished that was shown to the movie is that the professor’s family (Cate, Andy, Michael and Ronnie) could have visited Hachi once in a while just like in the real story of Hachi. It could have been more on the struggle of the family to keep the dog and how will they let them go but still keeping an eye on Hachi. I didn’t get in the movie why Cate suddenly seems cold to Hachi after Parker’s death like having a cold goodbye. Did Cate really have no idea where is Hachi for the last 10 years?
I also read the online book of Mayumi Itoh and it really made me feel better about the real Hachi. A lot of people took care of him even if he is not yet famous. The story is still sad but not as heart wrenching as shown in the two movies.
We are only more than a month away from Hachi’s 80th death anniversary so long live Hachi in heaven.
Yes, in real life, Hachiko was taken care of by the people near Shibuya station. And he also got national recognition. In fact, he was the chief guest at the unveiling of his own statue! That was about a year before he passed on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNsukeNKpsY
In the video, from the 0:36 second mark on, you can see footage of Hachiko himself! The voices are in Japanese so I can’t understand any of it, but someone said in a blog that the boy at 0:45 or so is saying why look at the Hachiko statue when the real Hachiko is right there..
Yes. I really love that video. It is nice to see Hachiko happy while waiting.
Having watched that video again and again, I realized that Hachi may already know that his master is already dead. He is just doing that to honor his master’s memory. He is still in grief and hoping that his master will come back gain one more time. Also note that the dog also lost his home after the professor’s death since that the widow have to give him up. Hachi is 100 pounds and could not be brought to their new home. Relatives and former gardener of the professor took care of him but Hachi’s life is never the same. Good to know that the professor’s wife regularly visits the dog unlike what was shown in the two movies.
If only the American version of the movie has 15 more minutes airtime and had a bigger budget, the story could be more accurate to the real story of Hachi.
Ron
Further down this blog you state —
“I then realized now that it is really two separate days between Cate visited and last day of Hachi. The trees where Hachi stands is the difference.”
What is it about the “trees being the difference” that bring you to this conclusion that it was two separate days? I just watched the movie from when Cate arrives in Bedridge to the end and do not see any difference in the trees when Cate sees Hachi waiting for Parker and when Hachi makes the last trip to the station.
My interpretation is that the day Cate visits Parker’s grave, returns to town with Ken and sees Hachi at the station (decorated with Christmas wreaths on the doors) still waiting, visits with her family (with Christmas tree in the background) and Hachi’s last trip to the station was all in the same day .. just at different times.
It is very apparent to me it is the same day because in the scene where Cate, visiting with her family as she and her grandson are looking at the photo album, Cate tells Ronnie the story of how Hachi and Parker met. As she speaks the camera moves to Michael and Andy on the couch and then pans up to the window and you then see snowflakes starting to fall and if you listen carefully you can hear an approaching train horn whistling … now the camera pans down to Hachi under the train and you still hear the train whistle, see the snow falling and as the train gets closer you hear the train rattling towards the station. That is when Hachi gets up and slowly makes his way to the station for the last time. I think the 5pm time on the clock when Parker and Hachi’s spirits reunite is just symbolic (that being the normal time they met each day) and that Hachi’s trip to the station was later at night while the trains were still stopping at Bedridge station. Jasjeet was nowhere in sight … could it be that it was Christmas Eve and he was spending time with his family.
There are several scenes in the movie where Hachi is at the station long after 5pm … one scene with Carl, the stationmaster, and two with Jasjeet. Perhaps Hachi stayed at the station from 5pm on until the last train in for the night.
Everyone who sees this wonderful movie is entitled to interpret the scenes I refer to in their own way but it kind of makes sense that it all happened in one day …. it’s just the way the Cate/grandson scene just melds into the next scene with Hachi laying in his spot hearing the next train approaching the station.
Robert, I completely agree with you! — another 15 minutes is needed for the American film to have closure. I obsessively researched the real story and was relieved to learn that Hachi’s human family visited him regularly and that the second station master gave him a storage room as shelter. This movie inadvertently gives the impression that the surviving Parkers abandoned Hachi, and I would have loved to see Parker’s daughter and son-in-law bring their son to visit Hachi on weekends. The real grandchild(ren) did visit Hachi, and the widow was present at Hachi’s statue ceremony. We would all feel more closure if these scenes were shown. I would have loved to see Carl, the grumpy station master, sneak Hachi into a warm storage room every evening before leaving his shift. I would have added a veterinarian making station calls. Even voice over phone calls could add these details. Other things that I read about the real Hachi made me wonder if Hachi simply enjoyed being at the station. Hachi reportedly viewed his master’s body at a wake and visited his grave, so perhaps he was waiting for the spirit of his master, and not a living master to step off the train.
Anyway, I hope scenes get added. A miniseries would be lovely also.
Sorry! I mean Ronald, not Robert!
Thanks, Whirlaway, I visited your Facebook page, “Liked” it and recommended it to a dog-lover friend. Pretty sure my local MNTV-WDCA Channel 20 in Washington, DC aired “Hachi” that last Dec. weekend in 2013. When my Hachi-fan neighbor moved back to California, I gave her my Kmart DVD copy as a going away gift and bought another copy from Safeway for myself. The Hachi-fan checkout clerk gushed over how sad the movie was. So I cheered her up with additional details about the real Hachi. Hope she visited this website!
Hello, to all that have commented, this is no reflection on your comments or ideas, but my sentiments.
The movie is perfect like it is. I think it is a classic, and was produced exactly right to stir our emotions of being friends, being loyal and caring . As for sequels , I don’t want to see any made, I want my perception of a wonderful , movie and story, remain true, and not diluted by any other adaptations of this movie.
The movie differs from the real life Hachi , but I really feel the altered story as portrayed in “Hachi, A Dog’s Tale” , is exactly how Hachi would want us to see and remember him.
You’ve made very good points, and screenwriters have very difficult jobs of anticipating and pleasing the expectations of every viewer. Some viewers will always wish for more scenes, especially since popular movies often do have re-writes, alternative endings, deleted scenes and unused footage because of budget and artistic considerations. This movie focused on the first two years and last day of Hachi’s life, and I hoped the DVD might contain separate extra features like unused scenes of his later years. Sometimes these deleted scenes should be kept out of the official movie, but they are a treat for fans who want to know more.
Mary, I believe the movie showed two different days towards the end of Hachi’s life, perhaps a few months apart. The reason for me to say so is that when Cate sees the old Hachi getting to the station square at 5pm, it is still daylight. But when Hachi makes his very last trip, it is quite dark at 5pm. So, it is likely the first scene was in early Fall (before the switchover from DST to Standard Time) and the final scene was in winter, after the switchover to Standard Time (the total absence of people in and around the square including Jasjit, Carl and Mary Anne, and that there were only a handful of passengers exiting the station that evening, makes me think it was perhaps Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve).
Sira, you may be right that Hachi died several weeks after Cate’s visit.
I then realized now that it is really two separate days between Cate visited and last day of Hachi. The trees where Hachi stands is the difference. Maybe the scene that Cate normally visits the train station is only up for our subplot. Not really showing it to the audience but for us to wonder.
BruceB, I understand your sentiments. I completely agree that the movie is wonderful as it is. But I won’t be averse to seeing a “Collector’s Edition” or a “Director’s Cut” with additional scenes showing Parker and Hachi together (remember the final flashback scene of them running by the lake/river was never shown in the earlier part? I think there are more such scenes that were left on the cutting room floor). And if there are a few more scenes of Forrest, that would be nice too.
But what I would like to see most is (and I think this can be done with minimal cost, perhaps even with existing footage) a dialogue that goes like this (taking place a few days after Cate’s visit to the station):
Carl (speaking into phone): Hello, Ms. Wilson. Nice to hear from you.
Cate (voice in phone): I would like to visit Bedridge with my daughter Alex and grandson Ron after the holidays to meet Hachi. Let us discuss what we can do together to take care of Hachi in his old age, while respecting his wish to keep waiting for Parker.
Carl: Very well, Ms. Wilson. Happy holidays to you and your family.
Cate: Thank you. Happy holidays to you all.
Carl: Thank you. Bye.
Your suggestion works well also.
Another detail I noticed that could be worked into phone call voice overs: the metal water bowl given to Hachi at the station is the same water bowl that Andy gave to him in her backyard. This suggests that Andy did visit Hachi after she set him free. She had to visit the station afterwards to drop off Hachi’s belongings. She and Carl could chat in voice overs about regular weekend visits. Most of us are wishing that there was more showing of family contact with Hachi over the next ten years.
Mary, that could work, provided the plot can explain how Andy kept in touch with Hachi but her mother Cate had no idea that he had continued to wait for Parker. It is possible to do it, though. I think most people wish that the Hachi in the movie was taken care of by somebody who became his guardian after Parker’s death, and not necessarily by someone in the Wilson family.
Exactly, Sira! — Cate’s reaction to Hachi suggested that she had no idea that he was still waiting for her husband after all those years, and this completely broke my heart! You would think that Andy and station regulars would have kept her informed. I wondered how Cate’s reaction and dialogue could be kept in tact while adding earlier scenes of regular visits by Andy, if not once a year visits by Cate herself. It occurred to me that if a statue dedication was inserted, Carl or a veterinarian could inform Cate that ailing Hachi wasn’t expected to still be alive for her next visit. This could cover for Cate’s complete surprise when she sees Hachi on her last visit. This movie breaks my heart because I grew up disfigured and cruelly abandoned by my own parents and extended family. Deliberate abandonment is very hard to live with, but I don’t think free-spirited Hachi was deliberately abandoned by the Wilsons.
I thought of this one alternative scene in the story where Cate’s visit to the town is only 7 years and not 10 years after. Cate is really depressed by her husband’s death that it took her 10 years to visit the town again. Maybe she really isolated herself from Parker’s memory to move on. Anyway, here is the flow of the story I am thinking.
1. The classroom scene where Ronnie says Hachiko is his hero is still there but it will start on how his grandmother told about Hachi and Parker’s story.
2. Then Ronnie at 8 years old together with Cate is sitting at the front of the train station at 4pm that day. Ronnie is wondering what they are doing there because it is too early for the next train. Cate then tells the story of his grandfather Parker and the loyal dog Hachi
3. Then the story of Hachi and Parker from finding in the train station up to Parker’s death is shown. Cate leaves the house and Andy took in Hachi but later have to let him go is still there.
4. After 7 years, Cate goes back to the town to finally see again Parker’s grave where she is surprised to see that Hachi still waits. The big emotional scene is still there and Cate respects Hachi’s vigil to still wait but now Cate regularly visits the dog and we go back to the scene that Ronnie at 8 and Cate is waiting in front of the train station.
5. Then at 5pm, Hachi arrives at the train station and the grown up Ronnie at 8 sees Hachi again after a very long time. The last time they had seen each other is when Ronnie is still a baby. Ronnie will regularly see the dog every weekend but Hachi is still focused on waiting for Parker. This continues for the Hachi’s last two years. No more dialogues needed.
6. Then we have the scene of Hachi’s last trip to the station but the difference is that in the wrecked train where Hachi sleeps, there is a comforter where Hachi sleeps. This is to show that somehow Parker’s family have found where Hachi sleeps at night and later on arranged the place where he sleeps.
7. Then we go back again to the classroom and up to the end, no changes in the scene.
For me that scene would make me feel better but the emotional scene in the movie is still there.
The change I suggested was only from the point of view of correcting what I regarded as an inconsistency in the plot. In one scene, Cate is shown getting really emotional about seeing Hachi still waiting for Parker. And in the very next scene, Cate is talking fondly about Hachi to her grandson Ron while Hachi still continues to sleep under the abandoned railroad cars and pursue his daily routine. The juxtaposition of these makes the plot a little hard to believe. That is why I suggested the extra “in between” scene of Cate planning a visit to Bedridge in her phone discussion with Carl so she could do something about taking care of Hachi.
In the scene that Cate shows picture of Hachi to Ronnie, there is a line that Cate tells “I remember, I was there that day” or something like that. Seems like that there were cut scenes there that Cate visits Andy, Michael and Ronnie and there she sees Hachi before running away.
Maybe Cate briefly lived with Andy, Michael, Ronnie and Hachi before she officially relocated. Since she had some kind of art/architecture restoration expertise, she probably got restoration work in another state. She also wasn’t a dog person like her daughter, so of course, Hachi was better off with Andi.
Perhaps a lot of information was lost about the real Hachi because of WWII. Also, the language barrier made researching difficult. My own research indicated that a lot of Japanese fiction was written about Hachi, which could be mistaken as fact by foreigners. Anyway, I read that the real Hachi was borrowed from the station for dog shows, that his human relatives visited often, and they attended Hachi’s own funeral! This dog was so loved that he had his own publicized funeral.
Here is a great discussion by other viewers who are also bothered by the apparent abandonment by the Wilsons:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1028532/board/nest/228660737?ref_=tt_bd_2
Hachi was named for the number 8. And when I was devising a route through all the major movie locations of the “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” in Woonsocket, this is the shape it turned out to have!
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zfwXOhhSegqk.k1cvdtDJJBCk&msa=0
It is very fitting and poignant that the route turned out in the shape of the number 8.
I know it has been over a year anyone has posted comments on this blog, but I feel compelled to post something myself regarding this movie. It has affected me in such a way that I really can’t explain. I began searching for every bit of information I could find about the real life Hachiko who lived in Japan. In turn, I was curious as to how this movie had affected other people and discovered this blog and have also read many comments regarding the movie, some good, some bad. In fact, I replied to a comment on Amazon that Sira had made over two years ago regarding the time on the station clock in the final scene of the train station, but I don’t think Sira is following the thread so has probably not seen it. When I first watched this movie it made me so sad and being an animal lover I also was very angry at the family for their abandonment of the dog. After researching the story I understood more why it was written this way – to show the loyal devotion of Hachi towards Parker.
There is one thing in the movie that should have been changed (in my humble opinion). After Ken reads the article in the newspaper about Hachi waiting at the station, and he goes to see him, when he is speaking in Japanese to Hachi he should be saying “It’s been seven years” and not “it’s been a year”. If you look at the newspaper article when Ken is holding the paper it states that Hachiko has been waiting for seven years for his deceased owner. After the scene between Hachi and Ken when Hachi is shown waiting and the seasons change with the leaves on the tree, it signifies three years, which would correspond with the year that Cate returned and visited Parker’s grave site and saw Hachi still waiting. I wondered if anyone else noted this.
Regardless, I adore this movie and the accompanying music, I’ve enjoyed reading the interest other people have had in this movie as well as the story of the original Hachi from Japan. Thank you, Vicki, for this blog. I hope you will continue it.
The problem with two hour movies is that they can’t show all the details that audiences wish had been included for emotional closure and clarity. Like you and others here, I researched the real Hachi and wish the Wilson family was shown regularly visiting Hachi as his real family had. Also, Carl should have been shown sneaking Hachi into a warm storage room at night as did the original station master. What saddens viewers is the impression that Hachi lived totally outside in terrible winters for 10 years, and that the Wilsons forgot about him. This is why I wish scenes could be added or that this story could be turned into a mini series.
Hi Ellen,
We always enjoy learning new details about Hachiko. Thank you for your continued interest in his life, and we hope viewers continue to appreciate and spread his story!
Best, Vicki
Hi Ellen,
Nice to hear from you. I had lost track of that Amazon thread where I asked about the time on the station clock. I was able to finally get to read it today after doing a Google search! So, I would like to tell you that your reply was read by me!
I agree with the timeline issues that you raised. I would say that Cate saw the old Hachi before Halloween, which explains why there was light at 5pm, and Hachi passed away on Christmas Eve, which is why it is quite dark by 5pm and also why the station square is completely deserted.
I will respond to your post on Amazon as well. So please check it sometime later today. Btw, did you look at the Sep 2015 entry on this blog? http://www.www.vickiandhachi.com/blog–whats-new/archives/09-2015 It has an article about our trip to Woonsocket in June of last year (with a picture of my family, including Zack, our little Coton de Tulear dog!)
Hello Mary,
It’s challenging to fit all interesting details into the constraints of one film. Editing is necessary for space and pace. Many viewers have asked about another film that adds background detail to the current one… We’re pleased you were touched by his life!
Best, Vicki
Ron
In your February 21, 2015 post you state —
“I then realized now that it is really two separate days between Cate visited and last day of Hachi. The trees where Hachi stands is the difference.”
What is it about the “trees being the difference” that bring you to this conclusion that it was two separate days? I just watched the movie from when Cate arrives in Bedridge to the end and do not see any difference in the trees when Cate sees Hachi waiting for Parker and when Hachi makes the last trip to the station.
My interpretation is that the day Cate visits Parker’s grave, returns to town with Ken and sees Hachi at the station (decorated with Christmas wreaths on the doors) still waiting, visits with her family (with Christmas tree in the background) and Hachi’s last trip to the station was all in the same day .. just at different times.
It is very apparent to me it is the same day because in the scene where Cate, visiting with her family as she and her grandson are looking at the photo album, Cate tells Ronnie the story of how Hachi and Parker met. As she speaks the camera moves to Michael and Andy on the couch and then pans up to the window and you then see snowflakes starting to fall and if you listen carefully you can hear an approaching train horn whistling … now the camera pans down to Hachi under the train and you still hear the train whistle, see the snow falling and as the train gets closer you hear the train rattling towards the station. That is when Hachi gets up and slowly makes his way to the station for the last time. I think the 5pm time on the clock when Parker and Hachi’s spirits reunite is just symbolic (that being the normal time they met each day) and that Hachi’s trip to the station was later at night while the trains were still stopping at Bedridge station. Jasjeet was nowhere in sight … could it be that it was Christmas Eve and he was spending time with his family.
There are several scenes in the movie where Hachi is at the station long after 5pm … one scene with Carl, the stationmaster, and two with Jasjeet. Perhaps Hachi stayed at the station from 5pm on until the last train in for the night.
Everyone who sees this wonderful movie is entitled to interpret the scenes I refer to in their own way but it kind of makes sense that it all happened in one day …. it’s just the way the Cate/grandson scene just melds into the next scene with Hachi laying in his spot hearing the next train approaching the station.
Hi,
I just thought of something and wondered if it is a possibility. If Parker died months before Christmas and Cate visited his grave ten years later then it was not Christmas when she saw Hachi at the train station. So it was a different time between that day and the last day for Hachi to visit the train station . What does everyone think ?
Judi,
When Cate is at the cemetery ten years later and sees Ken, it seems we are led to believe that the time of their visit coincides with the anniversary of Parker’s death since they see each other there surprisingly at the same time. In the very next scene when Cate is walking with Ken across from the station and is stunned to see Hachi still waiting, you can clearly see that it is Christmastime as there are wreaths on the doors and windows of the station. After she waits with Hachi for the next five o’clock train, in the next scene when she is visiting with her grandson there is a Christmas tree in the background. The following is the way Michael S beautifully described it in another discussion we had regarding the timeline:
“It is very apparent to me it is the same day because in the scene where Cate, visiting with her family as she and her grandson are looking at the photo album, Cate tells Ronnie the story of how Hachi and Parker met. As she speaks the camera moves to Michael and Andy on the couch and then pans up to the window and you then see snowflakes starting to fall and if you listen carefully you can hear an approaching train horn whistling … now the camera pans down to Hachi under the train and you still hear the train whistle, see the snow falling and as the train gets closer you hear the train rattling towards the station. That is when Hachi gets up and slowly makes his way to the station for the last time. I think the 5pm time on the clock when Parker and Hachi’s spirits reunite is just symbolic (that being the normal time they met each day) and that Hachi’s trip to the station was later at night while the trains were still stopping at Bedridge station. Jasjeet was nowhere in sight … could it be that it was Christmas Eve and he was spending time with his family.”
All that being said, on Parker’s last day when Hachi was finally playing fetch with him, it obviously isn’t Christmastime because the wreaths are not there on the station doors and windows. Now I have looked as closely as I can at the scene where Ken is reading the newspaper article about Hachi waiting for his deceased master (seven) years after his death, and it appears to be dated ‘February’, but it is not easily discernible so I could be wrong about the date.
Also in another discussion, Sira and I came to the conclusion that the director(s) were not thinking so closely about the timelines as we are doing! Following is what I stated in that other discussion:
“They seem to have ‘taken liberties’ with the actual timelines not thinking that anyone would notice as closely as we have! First, with the Christmastime ‘theme’ at the beginning when Hachi is a puppy, and later again with the Christmastime ‘theme’ at the end – they are really ‘manipulating’ our feelings with this, aren’t they? I say this because Christmastime can sometimes evoke a sense of melancholy for a lot of people, it can be a time for reflection, sometimes sadness, it affects people in different ways. Showing the Christmastime ‘theme’ at the beginning when Hachi and Parker first found each other and at the end when they are reunited in spirit makes for a very meaningful story.”
So there you have my thoughts on the timelines. It was not necessarily Christmastime when Parker died; however, Christmastime was very significant to the timeline of Parker and Hachi initially forming their special bond which continued long after Parker died until Hachi also died, at Christmastime, very poignantly portrayed at the end of the movie.
Late to this discussion but noticed the U.S. film paper’s seven years headline as well. I believe the filmmakers may have done that as a tribute to the actual newspaper article from Japan when Hachi was waiting seven years at the time of publish. Apparently the real Hachi wasn’t treated well at the station until that came out. Detail here about halfway down the page- https://yumig.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/hachi-the-faithful-dog-part-1/
Hi,
I think you are correct. I think I wanted it to be months later that Cate saw Hachi because she seemed so happy and having such fun when she
just saw Hachi old and still waiting at the station.It is like she was not a bit sad for hachi. I would have been very sad the whole day after such a traumatic meeting with Hachi.
Judi, I tend to agree with you. If the Cate visit and Hachi’s death happened on the same day, then it must mean that Hachi was going back and forth from the station many times. I think that was not true even in the real Hachi’s life. He is said to have been going to station every day at 5pm and waiting there until the last train arrives (perhaps 9pm to 10pm) before going back to his “home”.
Therefore, I believe that Cate’s visit happened before November 2 (the day daylight saving time ended – as it shows the station in daylight when Hachi begins his wait). Hachi’s final visit happened either on Christmas Eve or on New Year’s Eve (most likely the former) by which time we would be on Standard Time and that, plus the fact that the days will be shortening towards the winter solstice, meant that it was dark when Hachi walked to the station at 5pm on that day.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is the clothing Cate was wearing during her Bedridge visit was not the same as what she wore for Christmas with Ronnie. I’m going with the theory her Bedridge visit was an earlier day than her visit to Ronnie’s which would also explain her difference in emotions. I agree with the other posts that Cate’s visit to Ronnie and Andy’s was the same time as Hachi’s last trip to the station.
Hi Sira,
I like the way you tied up the ending. I can feel better about Cate being really happy to visit her daughter and grandson because enough time had passed for her to deal with the sadness.I think she did not know that at the time of her visit was also the night hachi went to the train station for the last time. That is why they panned from the snow falling at Andy’s and the snow falling at the train station.
Yearning is one of our souls’ most secret places. Maybe, it’s our most basic one. Reverencing love with acts of loyalty & gratitude comprise our integrity, our oneness with Creation & Creator. So glad to say this story is my core. When I respond, my answering emotions come from my deepest energy. On a different note, would anyone be able to please tell me what the words are that Ken says over Parker at his funeral? Thanks in advance.
“I’ve said that the soul is
not more than the body.
And I have said, that the body
is not more than the soul.
And nothing, not God is greater
to one than one self is.
I hear,
behold God in every object
that understand God not
in the least.
Nor do I understand who’s there
can be more wonderful than myself.
In the faces of men and women,
I see God and in my own face
in a glance.
I find letters from God
dropped in the street
and everyone signed by
God’s name.
But I leave them where there are
for I know that wherever I go,
others will constant comes.
Forever and ever.”
Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=hachi-a-dogs-tale
Hi,
I am heartbroken that Netflix is removing the Hachi movie from the list of movies to watch as of Sept.1,2016.How sad!!!!
The book mentions there was a director prior to Lasse who wanted an old dog for the scenes young (4 years old) Forrest performed with makeup and training. The trainers refused which was backed by Lasse when he took over. Who was the previous director?
The Call newspaper seems to be hard to pin down for dates. The page with “Hachi waits seven years” is dated Feb 26, 1999 in the top left corner which would be closer to a year (not seven) from Parker’s death. However, the opposite page has mention of Sen. Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee and the 2008 presidential campaign along with an ad for a 2007 Ford Fusion. This was actual news mid-Feb 2008 around the time the scenes were filed at the station. That would be 10 years after Parker’s death.
Mary,
The timeline shown in the movie has a gap of about 8 years. It shows Hachi as a 2-year old or thereabouts when Parker dies and covers a period of about a year or two after that. Then it jumps to 10 years after Parker’s
death (by which time Hachi is over 12 years old).
There is a lot of room for a “midquel” type of movie that can fill in that 8-year gap without in any way contradicting most or even any of the elements of the plot of the first movie. For instance:
Your new scenes work also and would be great for an expanded mini-series or midquel. The only actor who has aged too much for added scenes played the young grandson. Another child actor could be shown from behind visiting Hachi on weekends and attending Hachi’s statue ceremony. Or visits could simply be discussed in voiceovers with unused long shots of the station.
I think audiences are heartsick over imagining Hachi living outside in awful weather for ten years with only one ten year-delayed visit from the widow who probably moved to another state. It seems very cold that the nearby daughter and her family didn’t visit Hachi in all that time. This is why I wished for voiceover calls between station master Carl and the Parkers. He obviously called the daughter when Hachi first returned to the station. Carl could have kept the Parkers regularly updated, and if he gave Hachi a storage room, that would have combined his character with the two station masters who dealt with Hachi. The first station master ignored Hachi, but the second one loved him and became Hachi’s foster dad. Carl originally wanted nothing to do with Hachi, so it was ironic that he ended up being Hachi’s default foster dad. I would like to have seen grumpy Carl lavish love on Hachi when no one was looking.
I first heard about this movie Christmas Day of 2013. I visited my dog-loving neighbor who just lost her young adult son. Later that night, as I drifted off to sleep, my last thoughts were of lonely, abandoned Hachi waiting ten years for a master he didn’t know was dead. It was very disturbing that an animal could grieve that long. I’ve read of similarly heartbroken animals, and I spent the next day at work Googling Hachi. I called a friend several times to tell her that I had been crying at work all day over a damn movie I hadn’t even seen about a damn dog that died nearly 80 years ago in Japan. That evening, I stopped at Kmart and found this wonderful movie. And that very weekend, a local station aired it also. What divine timing!
Anyway, because of the animal control laws that most communities now have, Hachi would have been picked up by the animal control officer shown early in the movie. This is another reason why we need to see more organized care by the station regulars and the Parkers for Hachi.
Yes, that is the very same weekend (Dec 28, 2013 to be exact) that I first saw “Hachi” on a local TV station here (KTVU San Francisco, if I remember right). I began researching the movie locations the very next day and you can see the results under “Archives” on this blog (filed under “March 2014”).
Btw, if you are on Facebook, please visit and “Like” this site – https://www.facebook.com/thehachitrail I created the site in an effort to get dog lovers to visit the movie locations for “Hachi” (and also to help the city of Woonsocket get some tourist traffic).
I made another goof! — “Parker” family should be “Wilson” family.
I also prefer these scenes. Actually in the real story of Hachi, he lived in the professor’s former gardener. He stays there in the morning and sleeps there in the evening. It is still poignant but not as sad in the movies.
You know what, I also realize that Hachi may already know that his master is dead but just comes every afternoon to honor his master’s memory. In the last night of the real Hachi, he is just wandering the streets near the train station to reminisce his happy days and find those people that were kind to him even at the time he is not yet famous. Hachi died in front of a liquor store whose owner regularly provides him dried bananas and other foods. As he could not go further, he died there alone in the early morning of March 8.
That Hachi was named for the number 8, which symbolizes the connection between heaven and earth, is very significant, not only because he died on the eighth day of March, but as suggested in the poignant scene when he finally plays ball with Prof. Wilson at the station, Hachi spiritually sensed that he’d never see the professor alive again. I would like to think that Hachi knew the professor later died, but still preferred the ritual of greeting his master’s train, no matter how many years passed by, because he knew someday the professor’s spirit would return when it was Hachi’s turn to ride the train over the rainbow bridge to heaven. Meanwhile, Hachi enjoyed the company of Parker Wilson’s living friends and family at the station.