Title: 10 Promises To My Dog aka Inu to Watashi no 10 no Yakusoku
Genre: Drama
Director: Motoki Katsuhide
Format: Movie, 117 minutes.
Dates: 15 Mar 2008

Synopsis: When 14-year-old Akari (Fukuda Mayuko) finds a Golden Retriever puppy in her backyard, her mother (Takashima Reiko) approves of her keeping the puppy on condition that she never forgets “The 10 Promises” of dog ownership. Together, they name the puppy “Socks” from her white paw markings, and Socks prove to be a faithful and devoted friend to Akari as she goes through many trials during her growing years. However, as time went by and Akari grew up (Tanaka Rena), she slowly forgets about “The 10 Promises”… until one fateful day, when she is cruelly reminded of those of “The 10 Promises” which she did and did not keep with Socks.

The Highlights
Socks: Simply an incredible animal in all her incarnations throughout the movie.
Appeal: One for the dog lovers, and perhaps even those who aren’t dog owners.
Pacing: Slightly choppy due to several time slips.
Story: A simple story of a girl and her dog at first, but starts packing a heavier punch towards the end.

“God created man, but seeing how weak he was, gave him the dog.” - Alphonse Toussenel

The well-known phrase “a dog is a man’s best friend” is a testament to the legendary devotion of the dog to humankind. Inspired by the poem “The Ten Commandments of Dog Ownership” by an anonymous author, 10 Promises To My Dog is a simple yet touching story of her girl and her dog, that underlines the special relationship that man and dog share between each other.

Of course, Socks herself is the main draw, being simply a delightful animal no matter whether she was a cute puppy, or a full-grown and intelligent canine. Being of a breed known for its family-friendly image, the Golden Retriever seems to be just the right casting for the greatest mass appeal, and doubtless will warm the hearts of all but the most stone-hearted. Not to be outdone, young Akari (Fukuda) and adult Akari (Tanaka) act as a great counterpart to the different versions of Socks featured throughout the movie, playing off Socks as the human owner whose life is enriched by the presence of her companion dog.

Following the 10-year journey undertaken by Saito Akari and Socks, this movie is nowhere near the ambitious stories which the Lassie franchise is famous for; in fact, it might be said that the depiction of Akari’s relationship with Socks over the years is quite ordinary in every way. However, by no means is that bad at all; it turns out to be a very relatable story, especially to dog owners who would quite likely have gone through the same things that Akari experiences during her time with Socks, from the joy of meeting their friend for the first time, to the unexplainable grief ones feel at having to leave their best friend behind due to unforeseen circumstances.

What grounds the story in reality and makes it so much more meaningful as a result, is that it is not a total fairytale; just as dog owners will see the good parts of their own experiences in young Akari’s enthusiasm for Socks’ company, they will also see their own pitfalls in adult Akari’s increasing tendency to grouse about and neglect poor Socks as she increasingly becomes occupied with other things in her own life. The fact that Akari’s experiences mirrors that of real-life dog owners so closely makes it an incredibly intimate story, even if the time slips required to cover the extent of Akari’s 10 years with Socks may jar the pacing a little.

10 Promises To My Dog is not a particularly groundbreaking story, but it is a story that will resonate with its message about dog’s unconditional devotion for man, and the tragedy in how we all too often take that unconditional devotion for granted until it’s all too late. It’s a good idea to take away the ten promises themselves from the story, they are applicable not only to our canine friends, but our human ones as well.

The Rating: 7

Reviewed by: Ascaloth