Is Hachiko the Faithful Dog a remake?

Yes.

The movie "Hachi" directed by Xu Ang and starring Feng Xiaogang, Chen Chong, Bai Jugang and others. This film is adapted from the original script "Hachiko's Story" written by Kaneto Shindo. His film works include the Japanese version of "The Story of Hachiko" (1987) and the American version of "The Story of Hachiko" (2009).

After the Chinese version of "Hachi" was released on March 31, it scored excellent scores of 8.2, 9.4, and 9.3 on Douban, Maoyan, and Taopiaopiao respectively. Many reviews believe that this This film has become a relatively successful sample of localized film remakes and adaptations.

The story of the loyal dog Hachiko is adapted from a real event that happened in Japan: In 1924, the Akita dog Hachiko was brought to Tokyo by his owner Ueno Eizaburo, a professor in the Department of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo.

Every morning, Hachiko watched Eisaburo Ueno go to work at the door of his house, and in the evening he went to the nearby Shibuya train station to greet his master after get off work. Until the professor suddenly died of a stroke in college, Hachiko still faithfully waited for his master to come home at the station every day for nine years. After Hachiko's death, Japan gave him many statues to commemorate his loyal and touching deeds.

The Chinese version of "Hachi: Hachiko" is a work of great localization and sincerity

It is difficult to make an original film, and it is even more difficult to remake a film from a foreign country, and it is even more difficult to remake a film from a foreign country. It is even more difficult for a film that has two highly rated films before it, so it is easy for a remake to get positive reviews from the audience. However, the Chinese version of "Hachi" solved several major problems and managed to "preserve the shell and move the roots", so it was well received by most viewers.

The first is the problem of how to localize the remake of a foreign story. Currently, audiences generally believe that the Chinese version of "Hachi" has cleverly solved this problem. This remake retains the touching main line of humans and dogs, but the dog's name has changed from "Hachiko" to "Hachiko", which is more popular among Chinese people, and the dog breed has changed from Akita dog to Chinese pastoral dog (small native dog). ).

The story is also deliberately set in Chongqing, a mountain city with strong regional and cultural characteristics. The place where the dog waits for its owner every day is no longer a train station, but a unique urban cable car station in Chongqing.

In line with Chongqing’s unique topography, the local people’s comfortable and comfortable living conditions are throughout. The background design that enhances the atmosphere of human fireworks, coupled with the Chongqing dialect spoken by Chen Chong and others, makes this remake immediately down to earth.

Secondly, when the film was remade, it incorporated many contemporary elements and social topics. The story is set from about 2006 to 2021. The story background of the Three Gorges immigrants, the changes in the Internet age, the survival dilemma of Chongqing’s “Bangbang” (porters), and the differences between the north and the south of Beijing men “marrying” to Chongqing, let the audience The sense of immersion is very strong, especially for audiences in Sichuan and Chongqing.

The most important thing is that it is also a story about a family and a dog. The Chinese version spends more time laying out family relationships, which is more in line with the family concept that Chinese audiences value.

The Chinese version created the image of a large family: a spicy wife who loves to play mahjong, a silent son who likes surfing the Internet, and a rebellious daughter. Only the "foreign man" Professor Chen is dull and monotonous, and he is a dog. The arrival of Batong brought vitality and healing to Professor Chen's life, and it became the emotional link between the family of four.