From the same maker, these Japanese movies sure hell beats most of that manga and J-pop crap from Japan. It is not very often I am so touched by a movie until ‘an eye full of tears and a nose full of mucus.’ [一把眼泪，一把鼻涕。]
The following two are inspirational movies I would strongly recommend. I have watched the DVD for Quill some time in the beginning of the year and I picked up Helen the Baby Fox only recently. You can probably pick them up from a local DVD store and they will all come with English subtitles and Mandarin voice-over. So, it wouldn’t be a problem watching the movie even if it’s in Japanese.
Note: I recommend looking for them at the DVD store at the ground floor of Funan Centre since it appears to have a large collection of movies there.
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Quill [导盲犬小Q] “On Quill, one rediscovers the long lost love and loyalty.” – These were the comments in Chinese on the DVD box. The movie lived up to its claims, and what is the value of love and loyalty in the ‘me-first’ mentality so prevalent in first-world societies today? Sometimes, even animals showed more humanity than human beings who are nothing more than just beasts in human skin. The movie is based on the story of Quill, a Labrador trained to be guide dog for the blind. It covers its entire life from a puppy to its death. Quill left its mother as a puppy, went through training as a guide dog for the blind and was teamed with the stubborn Mr. Watanabe, who originally did not trust Quill. Surprisingly, Quill and Mr. Watanabe a deep friendship deveopled between man and dog, while Mr. Watanabe rediscovers the joy of life and enjoyed Quill’s undying loyalty. |
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Helen the Baby Fox [子狐物语 / 生命奇迹小狐狸］ “If you love Quill, you will love Helen! And if you do not cry after this movie, then you have no soul.” – These were the comments on the box. And it was true to them. It is hard not to cry watching the bond between carer and animal. The movie is based on a true story about a baby fox which cannot see, cannot hear and cannot bark. Left on its own, it would die within days in the wild. Came the boy Taichi, who took the fox to the home of her mother’s veterinarian boyfriend, and took care of it. The touching story revolves around Taichi’s devoted care for the baby fox whom he affectionate named ‘Helen’ after Helen Keller who also suffered the same fate. The entire event from Helen’s discovery to its death touched the life of the introvert Taichi, who struggles to adapt to being away from his mother, and his new home in Hokkaido. It also went on to inspire his mother, the veterinarian and her daughter. |
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