Kinako - The Story of an Apprentice Police Dog

2010 1h 53m JA

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1

DramaFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Kaho
Kyoko Mochizuki
Yasufumi Terawaki
Seijiro Bamba
Yusuke Yamamoto
Wataru Tashiro
Kenichi Endo
Ryoichi Mochizuki

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Yoshinori Kobayashi
Writers: Hideya Hamada, Kito Tawara
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CRAFT

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Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Yoshinori Kobayashi, shot by Takahito Kasai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Takayuki Hattori. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hirohide Abe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Kaho and Yasufumi Terawaki and Yusuke Yamamoto carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1583288 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Yoshinori Kobayashi directs. Takahito Kasai behind the camera. Takayuki Hattori scores. Hirohide Abe cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 16 years ago.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by Yoshinori Kobayashi, shot by Takahito Kasai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Takayuki Hattori. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Hirohide Abe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Kaho and Yasufumi Terawaki and Yusuke Yamamoto carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt1583288 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.