Holdiay Movie Preview

Tissue alert! Opening December 18, 2009 this movie about Hachiko, the Akita who waited for his master at the train station each day, is sure to be a tear-jerker, but the kind that cleanses the soul. Based on a true story about the Akita who belonged to a Japanese professor, the movie features Richard Gere in the starring role.

The loyal dog accompanied his owner each morning to the train station and waited patiently for his return. When the professor became ill one day and died before returning home, the dog continued to wait for ten years until he died in the last spot from which he saw his owner.

Hachiko is a hero in Japan; there is a statue of him in Tokyo's Shibuya train station and millions of Japanese have been meeting there since it was erected in 1934. A colorful mural of Akitas decorates another wall in the station. The dog has come to symbolize loyalty, friendship and devotion and is without a doubt Japan's most famous dog.

He soon may become equally famous in the U.S. Move over Lassie!