I like Richard Gere as the roles he plays are dramatic and usually the movie is a decent film. Although time does not permit me to follow Richard Gere films closely it just so happened this popped out on a web site I visit to see what is coming out. I placed an order for it on a movie subscription site and there is still as of today a very long wait for this movie..so I purchased it. I enjoyed the loyalty and devotion that Akita had toward it's master and the movie showed he got it as a pup which is when you really need to start training this dog which is used for hunting in Japan. They are loyal and are tolerant of other family members as I can attest to when I visited my Uncles farm in Japan his dog is an Akita and he was extremely nervous when I went to play with the dog as it can nip unknowns. Compared to the Japanese version the gist of the story is the same and for most Americans and for most people who love dogs this is a must see, waiting for Marley and Me 2. Sorry if went off base but been getting review this movie couple times on my e-mail so final conclusion: I liked this movie.