JF Theatre (Film screenings) in April 2016: Animal Friend

During the Pacific War, the Government ordered Ueno Zoo to kill all dangerous animals, including elephants, to protect the citizens of Tokyo. Elephant keeper Shota cares for a little elephant and its mother. He tries everything to save their lives, but the mother elephant dies of starvation. The little elephant survives thanks to being fed secretly by Shota. He manages to ship it to the countryside of Nagano Prefecture in a crate marked as a grand piano. Forty years after the war, the no-longer-little elephant is returned to Ueno Zoo and has a daughter and grandson.

This heart-warming film about a dog’s devotion to his master is based on a true story. Hachi belongs to Prof. Ueno of Tokyo University. The dog makes it a practice to accompany the professor to Shibuya Station in the morning and also to trot back to wait for him there in the evening. Even after Prof.Ueno’s death, Hachi still makes his way to Shibuya Station without fail. The persistence of this faithful dog touched the hearts of the people in Shibuya deeply. Following his death they commissioned a bronze statue to be erected in front of the station where it has become the most famous meeting place in Tokyo.

Amidst continuing financial debt of the early 1990s, the Asahiyama Zoo is in danger of closing, when freshman zookeeper Yoshida Tsuyoshi (Nakamura Yasuhi) joins the staff. Bullied as a child, Yoshida doesn’t meld well into social situations but under zoo superintendent Takizawa Kanji (Nishida Toshiyuki) he feels the passion of the zoo and enthusiastically strives to increase admissions. Through a series of initiatives such as specialist guides for each animal and “nighttime viewing,” Asahiyama Zoo gradually begins to regain popularity.

The story happens during the 2nd World War, telling about Kawai family with Masao as their third son and a leader of the boys in the village. Masao wants to have a zoo at his backyard so he gathers many animals. One day, Miyoko, a girl who lost her father in the war move to the village from Tokyo, befriended by the local children help she forgot her sadness.