The Marvel and DC superhero movie pandemonium has turned us into super fans. We live and breath capes and cowls. Any update on any new superhero movie or show being released? We want them as soon as possible and we want them now. There is so much chaos and hullabaloo. Superhero movies are here to stay. Some people are against it. They think these kinds of movies have turned the film appreciating fraternity dumb, deaf, and blind.
Well for once, even though we believe the superhero movie critics are too uptight, for once we believe they just might be right. Maybe indeed in our quest to become superhero super-fans, we forgot that one of the greatest bitter-sweet movies ever made just celebrated its 12 year anniversary last month.
Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is a movie many might think to be too obscure for their taste. It’s a very simple story. And simple, ladies and gentlemen, Hollywood is too high and mighty to let us appreciate. Everything nowadays is so complicated. Story, narration, visual effects, even the actors go into so much depth to get their part right. What will celebrating a simple story like the bond between a dog and his master do? Most of us are too above that. Right?
I first saw Hachi while randomly scrolling through channels back somewhere in 2010. Nothing much to see that day so decided to go along. And boy was I taken aback. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, make no mistake, is simple but still not for the weak-hearted. It is a story about loss, grief, patience, and loyalty so masterfully crafted it looks like the work of Raphael’s paintings on the Sistine Chapel. It is so primal and lucid we wish we could watch it again for the first time all over again.
Hachi Is More Than Just A Story
For us, Hachi is more than just a movie. It represents the clarity and intelligibility of a bygone era of Hollywood we may never see again. Is the movie flawed? Absolutely. Would we want to change it? Absolutely NOT.
What exactly could a movie about a dog have for us in store that the high budget, high value superhero movies by Disney and WB cannot teach us? If you are asking the same question to yourself like we are right now, maybe we do not deserve to see this movie. Maybe Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is not meant for everyone. We are not going so far as to say only true connoisseurs of art and cinema should be allowed to appreciate it. But if we as casual movie goers would start bringing down a movie even before we may not have seen it, maybe Hachi deserves to fade back into obscurity.
Martin Scorsese once said Hollywood and its fans are dying. And it is all because of Marvel and DC movies. Could he be right? Food for thought. Even if he is, even if we are indeed dead inside as movie fans, even if we aren’t alive, we know one thing for sure.
Hachi will still be waiting for us to come home. After all…..
The anniversary was on July 8 by the way.
