Summary
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]
| Kano | |
|---|---|
 Taiwan theatrical poster of Kano | |
| Directed by | Umin Boya |
| Written by | Wei Te-sheng Chen Jia-wei |
| Produced by | Wei Te-sheng Jimmy Huang |
| Starring | Masatoshi Nagase Tsao Yu-ning Hsing-Chen Yeh Togo Igawa Maki Sakai Takao Osawa Tenma Shibuya Aoki Ken Rose Yu |
| Cinematography | Chin Ting-chang |
| Music by | Naoki Satō |
Production company | ARS Film Production |
Release date |
|
Running time | 180 minutes |
| Country | Taiwan |
| Languages | Taiwanese Hokkien Japanese Hakka language Formosan |
| Budget | NT250 million |
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
- ^ Kano. Yahoo Taiwan. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ Japanese actors happy to appear in Taiwan baseball film 'Kano'
- ^ 2014 台南Fun幸福跨年晚會(Tainan New Year's Eve) 2014-01-02.
- ^ 陳柏宇談新歌《勇者的浪漫》 2014-02-27
- ^ 勇者的浪漫(粵語) 歌詞 The braver romance(Cantonese Lyrics)
- ^ 勇者的浪漫(中文版)
- ^ 風になって～勇者的浪漫～ Rake feat.中孝介
- ^ 7年級女破撞牆期 催生《KANO》改編漫畫
- ^ 《KANO》電影珍藏組合【漫畫+小說+寫真】(全5書)
