moviefreak

This family movie which is based on a true story is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me. It’s as good, if not better than, Eight Below. Just make sure that you have PLENTY of tissue nearby since I had to grab more and more and more and more while watching hi hi hi hi…

 The Story:

In a small village in Japan lives a family of four: Yuichi (Funakochi Eishiro) the father, Ryota (Hiroto Ryohei) the eldest son, Aya (Sasaki Mao) the youngest daughter, and Grandpa Yuzo (Utsui Ken). The kids have lost their mother a while back and you can feel the bond between these four people SO strongly since the beginning of the movie, especially the bond between Ryota and Aya. I just think that the world would be SO beautiful if brothers and sisters are like these two kids.

One day they are playing in a yard and they find a puppy without a home. So they take her home and she grows to be a beautiful dog. One day she gets pregnant and she has three CUTE puppies. Then in October 2004, an earthquake occurs and it ruins the entire village. At that time, Yuichi the father is at work and Ryota is at school, so Aya is left home with grandpa (who is rather sick), Mari, and her three puppies.

Aya and grandpa are trapped underneath their house, whereas Mari manages to save her puppies from trouble. Being a devoted dog, she tries to get back inside the house to help Aya and grandpa, but to no avail. They are trapped under too much rubble, so she can’t pull grandpa or Aya out. She then decides to look for help and the rescue team, who come to the village to help, follows her lead and they can take grandpa and Aya out in time. However, they don’t have enough space to take Mari and the three puppies with them in the helicopter, so they have to leave them there.

Aya keeps on crying, but she can’t do anything else. All the survivors now have to live in shelters and one day the kids decide to go back to their village to go get Mari and her puppies without telling the adults.

How can Mari survive in a wrecked village? What will happen to the kids in their journey to save Mari and the puppies?

Notes:

1. Naturally you know that Mari and the puppies will be safe, so will the kids he he he…but the movie is still worth watching. This movie is not just for dog lovers, as it also portrays well many different aspects of life, such as: family bond, life after a devastating natural disasters, and hope.

2. I’ll give this movie a 9 stars out of 10. Even now while typing this review and reliving the movie, my eyes start to get wet again and I’m NOT even having my PMS LOL!!!!

3. This is the link to the movie page: Mari. Unfortunately it’s only in Japanese, but you can see plenty of pics there he he he…And this is the link to the true story, translated into English from Japanese: The Inspiring Story of Mari and Her Puppies.