Quill

Directed by Yoichi Sai and based on a novel, this is a movie about the life of a Labrador retriever named Quill. The film opens with the birth of a litter of puppies, and one is selected by its owner to be trained as a seeing-eye dog under trainer Satoshi Tawada (Kippei Shiina). As Quill grows up and gains more skills, he is eventually paired with a stubborn blind man, Mitsuru Watanabe (played by Kaoru Kobayashi), who is reluctant to believe in the dog's worth. Much of the movie follows the relationship between the man and the dog, as Quill works his way into Watanabe's heart.

This is a heartwarming film, and a bit of a tear-jerker at times. A cynical person might say that the film is a bit overly sentimental, but it's hard to keep that opinion with such a cute star. The early part of the movie elicited constant sighs from the audience every time a puppy came on screen. All-in-all, Quill was an enjoyable movie that you could take the whole family to (provided you're prepared to fend off your kids' pleas to get a dog :-))

Tags: