Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog

Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog follows a Labrador retriever from puppyhood through specialized training as a guide dog. Quill is slower and more easygoing than other dogs, but shows unusual patience and empathy, qualities that lead a trainer to match him with Mitsuru Watanabe, a solitary, ill-tempered blind man who is at first reluctant to depend on a dog. The story is told partly through the eyes of Watanabe's daughter, Mitsuko, and traces how the pair gradually become a working team as Watanabe ventures back into the outside world.

The Japanese drama was directed by Yōichi Sai, whose filmography in chronological order lists this 2004 release alongside Blood and Bones the same year. Yoshihiro Nakamura and Shōichi Maruyama wrote the screenplay, and the production involved Shochiku, TV Tokyo, Nippan Group Holdings and Eisei Gekijo. Kaoru Kobayashi plays Watanabe, with Kippei Shiina as trainer Satoru Tawada, Teruyuki Kagawa as Isamu Nii, Keiko Toda as Mrs. Watanabe and Yukika Sakuratani as Mitsuko.

Running 100 minutes, the film has found a modest but appreciative audience: on TMDB it holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from 41 votes.