I love watching anime (Japanese cartoons) because of my fascination for Japanese media and art. I have not seen a live-action movie though, and fate has it that the Singapore airlines media system has heaps of international movies on our flight from New Zealand to Singapore. I am still learning Nihonggo (Japanese language) so I decided what the heck, I will see a Japanese live-action movie. Since I love dogs, an obvious choice would be the movie “10 Promises to My Dog”.

I did not regret my decision, the movie proved both moving and heart-warming (yeah right, a moving movie, nice one there). The movie follows the life of the lead protagonist Akari, from as a little kid owing a cute little puppy named “Socks” until growing up as a young woman, 10 years onwards. This is a family movie that touches on topics like responsibility, devotion and even death.

The Japanese actors all gave excellent performances in the movie, and the dog is very cute and endearing. The story is very well crafted and believable. The writer would have to be a dog lover to be able to come up with such a captivating tale. Be warned though, the last few minutes of the movie can cause a medical condition wherein the lacrimal glands secretes fluids (otherwise known as lacrimation).

It is always a treat watching movies that do not come out from Hollywood. You get to see and learn many things, like foreign culture similarities and differences.

This particular film is most recommended not just because the dog is adorable, but most of all, because of the heart-warming story.






 

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