【講師コラム】イジー講師No.2～My favorite movie!～

Ever since I was a child, watching a movie is one of our family bondings. Even now that I’m grown up, now that I have work, and am busy with my everyday activities, I still try to make time for our family movie night every Sunday. So If you ask me how many movies I have already watched, I do not know. I cannot give you an exact number, but all I can say is I have watched and rewatched a lot of movies already. And If you ask me about my favorite movie, I can also mention numerous. But I can tell you about one of them today.

I will tell you about a movie that brought me to tears. I am a cynophile, and I like movies about dogs. But this specific movie about a dog is closest to my heart. ‘Hachi: A Dog’s Tale’ is its title. It is a very tear-jerking movie. Every time I watch this, I would always shed tears. This is based on a true story, and you might have heard of this movie or the real story itself. It portrayed the unbreakable bond between a dog named Hachiko and his owner. My favorite scene from the movie is when Hachi accompanies his owner, Professor Wilson, to the station every morning. Then he would return to the station every evening to greet his owner, and they would go home together. It is a very touching and heartwarming scene. Hachi may be a dog, but he taught me a valuable lesson about loyalty. I actually learned 3 lessons about loyalty from his story.

The first one is: loyalty is not easy. A lot of people have become skeptical if there really exists a loyal person since a close friend of theirs or even their partner did not stay faithful to them. The reason for that is because people tend to give up being faithful when their loyalty is challenged. There is nothing easy in this world. A true loyal person is a person who stays loyal, despite the challenges he faces. Even if people told Hachi to go home still, he chose to wait for his owner.

The second one is: loyalty is fulfilling and rewarding. Loyalty is a pleasing personality. It attracts close and lasting relationships with others. Being loyal is equivalent to having a strong bond with friends, family, and significant other. If a person is loyal, he will have more people who will stay with him. If the professor got sick only for a few days and heard how Hachi waited for him. He will definitely be touched and love his pet and friend all the more.

The third one is: genuine loyalty comes from unconditional love. As mentioned in the first lesson, loyalty can be challenged oftentimes. Without unconditional love, a person can easily give up being loyal. Hachi bore to wait for 9 years because of his unconditional love for his owner.

‘Hachi: A Dog’s Tale’ is such a sad yet beautiful movie. The way it portrayed the real story of Hachi and Eizaburo was gratifying. The real Hachi had already died in 1935, but his story is still remembered even after decades have passed. His loyalty is legendary, and he became a symbol of pride and loyalty in Japan. There was even a bronze statue of him installed outside Shibuya station in Tokyo where he waited for his owner.

The movie being based on a heart-stirring real-life story is one of the main reasons why this movie will always be close to my heart. Another reason is it taught me valuable lessons. Thus, If someone asks me what is a good movie to watch. I would recommend this movie.