MOVIE REVIEW : Cruelty on a Long Leash in Japanese ‘Harras’

“Harras” (at the Little Tokyo Cinemas) is yet another of those ultra-sentimental animal pictures so beloved by the Japanese. However, not only is it predictably tedious and smarmy, it is also--unintentionally and unattractively--the story of a couple who never learn how to care for the dog they supposedly love like the child they never had.

Consider this: The couple are the unexpected but not ungrateful recipients of an adorable little puppy, which the husband names Harras. As they sit reading in their comfortable suburban living room every evening, they let Harras bark and cry, chained outside, until the neighbors complain. The husband reacts by beating the puppy severely.

Twelve years pass, and the husband decides to give Harras a treat by taking him along on a trip to a ski resort in the dead of winter. You guessed it: The now-elderly dog gets lost in the snow. Miraculously, he survives, but the following year is afflicted with a tumor the veterinarian is convinced is malignant. Do the couple humanely put Harras to sleep? Of course not; it never even occurs to them to do so, which means we have to watch Harras suffer until he at last mercifully dies.

It is depressing to note that “Harras,” which plays as one long contrivance, was written by Tora-san creator Yoji Yamada and his longtime writing partner, Yoshitaka Asama, but directed (routinely) by Tomio Kuriyama. In this synthetic heart-tugger (Times-rated Mature), the various dogs who play Harras lend the only natural touch to the film. Go Kato, who plays the obtuse husband, and Yukiyo Toake, cast as his highly emotional wife, are veteran professionals who deserve all our compassion.

‘HARRAS’

A Shochiku presentation. Director Tomio Kuriyama. Screenplay Yoji Yamada, Yoshitaka Asama; from a book by Koji Nakano. Camera Kosuke Yasuda. Music Shinichiro Ikebe. With Go Kato, Yukiyo Toake, Yoshikio Nakada. Toru Masuoka, Yumi Kusaka, Narimi Arimori. In Japanese, with English subtitles.

Running time: 1 hour, 46 minutes.