Bland beyond endurance. Based on a Japanese story of canine fidelity, this stars Richard Gere as a music professor (yeah, right) who picks up a stray dog on the way home from his railway commute.

　　 Wife Joan Allen isn't crazy about the mutt, called Hachi, and given Gere's doggy devotion extends to sharing a bath with it you can understand why. Lasse Hallström, a devotee of such mawkishness (Cider House Rules, Chocolat), paints an utterly unconvincing picture not only of Gere's family life but of the small town where Jason Alexander is the railway station ticket-collector who also falls for old Hachi. Please! You may also want to scream at Jan Kaczmarek's irksome piano trilling in the background. It is, in a word, exactly what you'd say to a dog: mush.

　　 Inspired by true events, Hachi: A Dog's Tale details the unusually strong bond that forms between a college professor (Richard Gere's Parker Wilson) and a dog named Hachi after the former finds the latter abandoned at a nearby train station. Director Lasse Hallstrom has infused Hachi: A Dog's Tale with a relaxed sensibility that effectively reflects Stephen P. Lindsey's low-key screenplay, with the palpable chemistry between Parker and Hachi effectively sustaining the viewer's interest during the film's decidedly uneventful opening hour (ie Gere is at his charismatic best here, and that dog is almost absurdly adorable). The pleasant, easy-going atmosphere is perpetuated by the colorful array of supporting characters, as Hallstrom does a nice job of establishing the various townspeople that become an increasingly pivotal part of Hachi's story (including Jason Alexander's Carl and Erick Avari's Jess). （英语影评）And while the pervasively laid-back vibe might be too much for some folks to handle, the viewer's patience is certainly rewarded once the tremendously moving third act rolls around - as the story's expectedly tragic turn is exploited to maximum emotional effect by Hallstrom. It's consequently not a stretch to label Hachi: A Dog's Tale the most gut-wrenching tearjerker to come around in quite some time, and there's little doubt that the film will undoubtedly leave dog lovers reeling long after the end credits have rolled.