Hachiko

"Hachiko" (2023) is a Chinese family drama you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Xu Ang. In early-2000s Chongqing, aging university professor Chen — played by Feng Xiaogang — picks up a muddy, frightened puppy on a country road. His wife (Joan Chen) hates dogs. Nobody else wants the animal either. The puppy stays.

Named Hachiko, the dog learns Chen's schedule and is waiting at the same spot every evening without fail — until the day Chen doesn't come back. What follows is less about grief and more about devotion so ingrained it outlasts understanding. A loose remake of the real Japanese Akita's story, relocated to southern China and given a distinctly warmer, family-centered tone. It will make you cry well before the midpoint, and that is not a criticism. Stream "Hachiko" (2023) online on iFILM.