Kinako (film)

Kinako - The Story of an Apprentice Police Dog (きな子〜見習い警察犬の物語〜, Kinako: Minarai Keisatsuken no Monogatari) is a 2010 Japanese film based on a true story of a dog trainer.[1] It was released in Japanese cinemas throughout Japan on 14 August 2010.[1]

Kinako
Film poster
Directed byYoshinori Kobayashi
Written byHideya Hamada, Kito Tawara
StarringKaho, Yasufumi Terawaki, Naho Toda
Music byMetis
Distributed byShochiku
Release date
  • 14 August 2010 (2010-08-14)
Running time
113 min
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Story

This movie is based on the true story of a female dog trainer, Kyoko Mochizuki, nicknamed "Anko", and a Labrador retriever which repeatedly fails the police dog trials despite numerous tries. Kyoko Mochizuki is an 18-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a police dog trainer. She is admitted to a police dog training school and meets a young Kinako, a Labrador retriever puppy. An instructor there informs Kyoko that Kinako is too weak to become a police dog, but Kyoko is determined that she will make Kinako into one.

Cast

Production

Theme song

The film's theme song was provided by the singer Metis.[2] The theme song is a newly written piece of music, and is entitled Only One: Aitakute (Only One～逢いたくて～).[2]

Media

DVD

The DVD version was released on 14 January 2011.[3]

Photo book

A photobook by Kaho, entitled “Breeze with Kinako”, was on 4 August 2010. The photos were taken at the filming location this movie.[4]

Reception

Critical reception

Mark Schilling from The Japan Times, criticized the film for using "cliche after cornball cliche from local "guts-to-glory" films, while inflicting shot after shamelessly adorable shot of its title pooch and teen trainer" and gave the film a rating of 1.5 out of 5.[5] He also derided the film's actress Kaho whom he described as "a bit old to pull it (her role) off".[5] The reviewer also added that "the best actor in the film is the dog" and advised viewers who are looking for "stress relief with funny animal tricks" to "save time and try YouTube".[5]

Accolades
Film festival Date of ceremony Category Participants/Recipients Result
34th Japan Academy Prize[6]18 February 2011Best NewcomerMomoka OnoWon

References
  1. "きな子　見習い警察犬の物語 on eiga.com". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-08-26.
  2. "レゲエシンガーMetis、見習い警察犬の奮闘描く映画「きな子」主題歌". eiga.com (in Japanese). 2010-03-04. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
  3. "Amazon Japan". Amazon.com, Inc. (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  4. Shiso (30 June 2010). "Kaho to release photobook". tokyohive. tokyohive. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  5. Schilling, Mark (6 August 2010). "No more puppy love: Man's best friend equals film's worst genre". The Japan Times Online. The Japan Times Ltd. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
  6. 第 34 回日本アカデミー賞優秀賞 (in Japanese). Japan Academy Prize. 2010-07-29. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
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