A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies

A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies
Film poster
Directed by	Ryuichi Inomata
Produced by	Hitoshi Endo, Shin Horiguchi, Hisashi Usui
Written by	Kodai Yamada, Yuki Kiyomoto, Ako Takahashi
Studio	NTV
Distributed by	Toho
Release date(s)	8 December 2007 (2007-12-08) (Japan)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	$30,183,621 [1]

A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies (マリと子犬の物語, Mari To Koinu No Mongatari^?) is a 2007 Japanese film directed by Ryuichi Inomata. It was released in Japanese cinemas on 8 December 2007.^[2] It is based on a true story in the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake.

Plot synopsis

A Tale of Mari and the Three Puppies (Mari to koinu no monogatari) starts with a puppy, Mari, a Shiba Inu, being taken in by a family which recently has lost its mother. A year later she herself has three puppies, just in time for a major earthquake which strikes the mountain village where she lives. Although valiant herself in trying to rescue the family‘s grandfather, there is no choice but to leave her behind in the evacuation.

The film follows her adventures as well as those of the two children to whom she belongs during two long and arduous weeks of separation.

Born on the day of an earthquake

On October 23, 2004, a dog named Mari gives birth to three puppies in Yamakoshi. That evening, a severe earthquake struck Niigata and devastated the village, causing almost all of its homes to collapse. During the quake the puppies are jolted away from their mother. Because she is bound by a leash, Mari cannot reach them. Eventually the collar loosens. Mari picks up her puppies, moves them to a safe place, and runs to her ruined house.

Courageous rescue

The grandfather of Mari’s family was home alone that day. He lived on the second floor, but suffers from a neurological disorder. After the earthquake, he is trapped beneath a wardrobe. Mari appears in his room on the second floor, licks him, and checks on her pups before quickly returning to the man’s room. She ran back and forth many times even though her paws had been injured by the shards that lay on the floor. The grandfather was inspired to push at the wardrobe and free himself. He spent two hours climbing down the stairs.

Further ordeals

After the earthquake Yamakoshi was isolated as local roads had been cut off. And with continuous aftershocks increasing the danger of landslides, on October 25 the villagers were evacuated by helicopter. The grandfather was forced to leave Mari behind. The villagers stayed in temporary housing in a neighboring city. Being in charge of advertising for the village committee, the son was busy so he placed Mari and her pups with another family. While the grandfather was still in hospital, Mari's caretaker took her to visit him.

In April 2005 the grandfather was discharged and began living with his son and Mari in an apartment. Mari's three puppies were adopted.

Mari’s story has frequently been reported in the media and has also made into a book.

Cast

• Eiichiro Funakoshi as Yuichi Ishikawa ^[3]
• Akiko Matsumoto as Saeko Hasegawa
• Ryohei Hirota as Ryota Ishikawa
• Mao Sasaki as Aya Ishikawa
• Yu Tokui
• Kenjiro Nashimoto
• Chihoko shigeta
• Yukijiro Hotaru
• Kazue Tsunogae
• Yoshikazu Ebisu
• Hiroki Miyake
• Masanobu Takashima
• Mao Kobayashi
• Takehiko Ono
• Ken Utsui
• Akiko Matsumoto

See also

• Search and rescue dog

References

1. ^ "Box Office Mojo". IMDb.com, Inc.. 2008-08-31. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/intl/?page=&wk=2007W49&id=_fMARITOKOINUNOMON01. Retrieved 2011-01-16. 
2. ^ "Yahoo! Japan Movies" (in Japanese). Yahoo Japan Corporation. http://info.movies.yahoo.co.jp/detail/tymv/id328448/. Retrieved 2011-01-16. 
3. ^ "goo Movies". NTT Resonant Inc. http://210.150.25.65/contents/movies/MOVCSTD11775/staff.html. Retrieved 2011-01-16. 

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• allcinema (Japanese)
• kinejun cinema (Japanese)
• A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies at Rotten Tomatoes