Kano (film)

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Kano
Taiwan theatrical poster of Kano
Directed byUmin Boya
Written byWei Te-sheng
Chen Jia-wei
Produced byWei Te-sheng
Jimmy Huang
StarringMasatoshi Nagase
Tsao Yu-ning
Hsing-Chen Yeh
Togo Igawa
Maki Sakai
Takao Osawa
Tenma Shibuya
Aoki Ken
Rose Yu
CinematographyChin Ting-chang
Music byNaoki Satō
Production
company
Release date
  • 27 February 2014 (2014-02-27)
Running time
180 minutes
CountryTaiwan
LanguagesTaiwanese Hokkien
Japanese
Hakka language
Formosan
BudgetNT250 million

Kano is a 2014 Taiwanese baseball period film directed by Umin Boya and produced by Jimmy Huang and Wei Te-sheng. It is based on a true story depicting the multiracial Kano baseball team from Japanese-era Taiwan, overcoming extreme odds to represent the island in the 1931 Japanese High School Baseball Championship at Koshien Stadium (located in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture). Performing beyond all expectations, the underdog team advanced to the championship game in the tournament.[1][2]

The film stars Masatoshi Nagase as Hyotaro Kondo, who coaches an underdog multi-ethnic high school team comprising Taiwanese aborigines, Han Taiwanese and Japanese players. The team's star pitcher, Meisho "Akira" Go, is played by Tsao Yu-ning, who won a Best Supporting Actor award at the 2014 Taipei Film Festival for his performance in the film.

The film also won Audience Awards from the Golden Horse Film Festival (where it also won a FIPRESCI Prize), the Taipei Film Festival and the Osaka Asian Film Festival. Kano is the 6th highest grossing domestic Taiwanese film of all time.

Music[edit]

Theme song[edit]

Taiwan version (Japanese + Mandarin): 勇者的浪漫~風になって~/勇者的浪漫 Brave Romance[3]

Composer: Rake / Lyrics: Rake, Yan Yunnong
Singer: Van Fan/Fan Yi-chen, Kousuke Atari, Luo Meiling, Suming Rupi/Shū Mǐ Ēn, Rake

HK version: 勇者的浪漫 Brave Romance (Cantonese)[4][5]

Composer: Rake / Lyrics: 林若寧 / Supervisor: Schumann@Zoo Music / Arrange: Schumann@Zoo Music
Singer: Jason Chan/Chan Pak Yu, VnP

Taiwan version (Chinese): 勇者的浪漫(中文版) Brave Romance (Chinese)[6]

Composer: Rake / Lyrics: Rake, Yan Yunnong
Singer: Luo Meiling (Irene Luo), Umin Boya, Wei Te-sheng, KANO staff (Yan Yunnong, Xie Jun Jie, Xie Jun-Cheng, Zhong Yan-Cheng, Zhang Hong Yi, Chen Jing-Hung, Zhou Jun Hao, Zheng Bing Hong, Sun Ruei, Ye Xing Chen)
Director: Li Su Qing

Japan version (Japanese + English): 風になって~勇者的浪漫~ / Rake feat.中孝介 Brave Romance[7]

Composer: Rake / Lyrics: Rake
Singer: Rake, Kousuke Atari

Accolades[edit]

Year Awards
2014 Osaka Asian Film Festival 2014, Audience Award
2014 16th Taipei Film Festival, Audience Choice Award
2014 16th Taipei Film Festival, Best Supporting Actor – Tsao Yu-ning
2014 51st Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, Audience Choice Award
2014 51st Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, FIPRESCI Prize

Adaptations[edit]

A 3-volume comic series and a novel based on the movie were published by Yuan-Liou Publishing Co., Ltd.[8][9]

References[edit]

External links[edit]