Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

The critic praises the film as an effective tear-jerker that avoids irritating schmaltz. They single out the underplayed man-and-dog romance and Hallström’s assured direction for praise.

The film is no masterpiece but delivers as a reliable tearjerker sure to win over family audiences with its story of canine loyalty. It singles out the final moments as absolutely devastating and praises the dog's star presence along with the score's enhancement of poignancy.

The critic calls the story extraordinary and touching but notes it is told with too commercial an eye. They single out the calculated sentiment and box-office focus for mild complaint.

A lovely family drama inspired by a famous true-life case of canine devotion, with Richard Gere well cast as the music professor who takes in the Akita puppy. Director Lasse Hallström avoids cheap sentiment, treating the bond between man and dog with tender gravitas so that subsequent events prove moving rather than manipulative.

Lasse Hallström’s unfussy film, transplanted to contemporary New England, tells the moving true story of a faithful Akita who waits nearly a decade at a railway station after his owner dies. Sensitively directed and rarely over-sentimental, it will likely ravish dog lovers while also addressing the emotional fallout of death.

The critic finds the film bland beyond endurance and dismisses it as mush. They single out the unconvincing family and small-town scenes, along with the irritating piano score, for complaint.

Lasse Hallström serves up classy mediocrity in this straightforward story of canine loyalty. The film offers gentle observations on grief and pets that will likely move viewers to tears of boredom or emotion.

The film is a Greyfriars Bobby-type tale of canine devotion that undermines what is left of director Lasse Hallström’s reputation and confirms him as the Hallmark greeting card of movie-makers.

The film is a sentimental, repetitive tale of a professor bonding with a loyal Akita that harks back to earlier era values. It is a simple tearjerker demonstrating unconditional love but lacks dramatic human story.

The film offers gentle sweetness and the dog's enduring cuteness that will appeal to dog lovers and younger viewers, with an unusual focus on a dog's grief after loss. It drags in places with workmanlike direction and some hilariously bad scenes, though it is better than many recent canine films.