Unlike MLB, where baseball has already been commercialized, KANO shows us the true spirit of the game. From the director of "Seediq", KANO takes us back to a time that playing ball was sacred. With a nearly perfect rhythm and strong story, the filmmakers have shown us how the spirit of baseball can turn players from three different races into one strong team. From every setting to the music of the movie, it is not hard to see they had put their hearts in to the film. This is a movie that can bring you tears of joy as well as warm your heart. The intensity of the games can make you cry and cheer. Most importantly, it's a movie that teaches you to never give up and fight to the end, no matter what the outcome is. Although the CGI is not perfect, after you watch the the movie you will understand why that is not a problem. It is definitely the best picture of the year.
8 Reviews
Arena for Heroes - Kano for the World
AkelaLoneWolf17 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very exciting and inspiring movie; it's more than baseball - it's about striving towards your goals no matter how impossible they seemed. The story was based on the historical fact that one legendary baseball team from Taiwan (at that time considered a province in Japan during the Occupation) made it to the Japanese national high school baseball championship Koshien. Some had criticized the director for his pro-Japanese sentiments and for portraying the Japanese rulers in a favorable light; I believe he was only trying to pay tribute to an amazing team with players of different ethnicities who worked towards their dream, dropping minor differences on the way. It will be an easy watch even if you don't know baseball (well somehow I managed to recall the theories taught in high school and was able to follow). Some lines are quite funny - "So Teacher Hamada was responsible for conning papayas while Coach Kondo did the part of conning us!"
If you give your 100%, the rest of the team will do the same.
Reno-Rangan24 March 2016
I have seen many historical-biopics from Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, but I don't know much of Taiwan history. In fact everything I learnt about the world was mostly through watching movies like this. It was not about war or the freedom fighters, but based on the real story of an under-performed multi-racial baseball team that hit a headline in the 1931 after qualifying to play in a championship.
Baseball is not a widely popular in the world like football or cricket, except in a few countries. I have seen many baseball movies, but I never understood the game clearly. That never stopped me enjoying the inspiration, the player's passion towards the game and the entertainment it offered. This is not the best baseball movie I have ever seen, but definitely one of the best among them. I never heard this movie before, but once came to know, I was desperate to give it a try.
Sets in when Taiwan was still under the Japanese colonial rule. A high school baseball team called Kano had never won a single game before receives a new strict disciplined coach from Japan. The team's fortune is about to change when the coach Kondo boosts his player's confidence by his method of training. With the initial struggle, they get to taste their first victory. Later the team head to Japan to represent the island in a big tournament. That brings to an end to the narration by revealing their underdog tag to winning the hearts of the fans in an unknown territory with their great consistence performances.
"Don't think about winning. Think about not losing. Then you will have all the strength you need."
An inspiring movie, about the self-confidence and hard work. But I had my disappointments as well with its exaggerated screen presentation. In the many parts, the sentimental cinematic overdose without the realistic appeal made me consider it is nothing less than a commercial film. You know, making the tight fist, teeth biting, sharp look, those things give the audience unnecessary goosebumps. Maybe if you're a native, it might give a patriotic uplift. Other than that I loved the background score, very pleasing camera work and the countryside location, good performances by all, very decent direction and overall a satisfying movie,.
Historical subject means, there should always be some amount of graphics to recreate the past eras and this film had a weakness in that field, but those parts were totally ignorable which mostly comes in the backgrounds. I think 180 minutes is a too long for these days films. That's an achievement for you if you succeed watching without losing your focus. We can comfortably sit for that long for a commercial movie, because commercial films means entertainment, but this one was depicting the real story and for a sports movie it does not look good. I am saying that because of the third act and the ending.
Knowing the history through a movie is good, better than learning in the school, but when it tumbles to meet the viewer's expectation, surely trouble arises. Because all the people are not the same to accept whatever the movie delivers, simultaneously being practical to original events is very essential. If it avoided those cinematic gimmicks, I would have considered it an unexpected masterpiece. I love this movie for being just a movie and historical account, but I expected more honest with the screen presentation. An a movie fanatic, I definitely recommend it, but personally, I let you decide yourself. Because the way it ends, most people easily get upset for spending 3 hours.
7/10
Baseball is not a widely popular in the world like football or cricket, except in a few countries. I have seen many baseball movies, but I never understood the game clearly. That never stopped me enjoying the inspiration, the player's passion towards the game and the entertainment it offered. This is not the best baseball movie I have ever seen, but definitely one of the best among them. I never heard this movie before, but once came to know, I was desperate to give it a try.
Sets in when Taiwan was still under the Japanese colonial rule. A high school baseball team called Kano had never won a single game before receives a new strict disciplined coach from Japan. The team's fortune is about to change when the coach Kondo boosts his player's confidence by his method of training. With the initial struggle, they get to taste their first victory. Later the team head to Japan to represent the island in a big tournament. That brings to an end to the narration by revealing their underdog tag to winning the hearts of the fans in an unknown territory with their great consistence performances.
"Don't think about winning. Think about not losing. Then you will have all the strength you need."
An inspiring movie, about the self-confidence and hard work. But I had my disappointments as well with its exaggerated screen presentation. In the many parts, the sentimental cinematic overdose without the realistic appeal made me consider it is nothing less than a commercial film. You know, making the tight fist, teeth biting, sharp look, those things give the audience unnecessary goosebumps. Maybe if you're a native, it might give a patriotic uplift. Other than that I loved the background score, very pleasing camera work and the countryside location, good performances by all, very decent direction and overall a satisfying movie,.
Historical subject means, there should always be some amount of graphics to recreate the past eras and this film had a weakness in that field, but those parts were totally ignorable which mostly comes in the backgrounds. I think 180 minutes is a too long for these days films. That's an achievement for you if you succeed watching without losing your focus. We can comfortably sit for that long for a commercial movie, because commercial films means entertainment, but this one was depicting the real story and for a sports movie it does not look good. I am saying that because of the third act and the ending.
Knowing the history through a movie is good, better than learning in the school, but when it tumbles to meet the viewer's expectation, surely trouble arises. Because all the people are not the same to accept whatever the movie delivers, simultaneously being practical to original events is very essential. If it avoided those cinematic gimmicks, I would have considered it an unexpected masterpiece. I love this movie for being just a movie and historical account, but I expected more honest with the screen presentation. An a movie fanatic, I definitely recommend it, but personally, I let you decide yourself. Because the way it ends, most people easily get upset for spending 3 hours.
7/10
Even everyone who's NOT into baseball and/or Japanese movies, you have to see this movie!
stefan24-326-4092128 January 2015
The movie Kano (2014) is about the Taiwanese/Japanese baseball team who never won any baseball game, but their new manager is trying to live up their ultimate dream: play in the 'Koshien' stadium, where Japanese high school teams play finals in the national baseball league. Kano is an extraordinary movie that shows the true meaning of team spirit, friendship, and the original way how baseball (or any sport) SHOULD be played with team spirit, dedication and no commercialism. It shows the true life of a simple Taiwanese baseball team in high spirits. Friendship between teammates, love between families, love for the game. This makes one hell of a movie. A MUST SEE!
Deep and funny movie based on historical events
chloe-6835827 March 2018
This movie seems to be about baseball but it is also about sports ethics, passion, dream, determination, friendship, and perhaps most importantly, overcoming racial barrier. Do not forget that this movie is made by a formal colony about its colonial period. Most of the lines were written in Japanese, but they included as many kinds of languages in Taiwan as possible. They found actors that have the same ethnicity as the roles they're playing. The lines are great, showing the spirit of the culture. It is a crude simplification to suggest that this is a nationalistic film. It's as if to say Black Panther is pan-black or whatever and ignore its significance in the history of cinema. This film is different things to different people. It uses a true historical event to speaks about the challenges of individuals, just in life in general, as a Japanese descent growing up in a colony, as the colonised or even an indigenous person in the colonial period, as a man who lost his dream but inspired by young people etc. So much more. If only the studio had more money, it would be able to have nice cgi as the American films and publicise around the world. Its message serves more than entertainment and speaks strong in the future as the former colonies are coming closer together with the former colonisers.
An epic tale of perseverance and pride; a story that connects past and the future
wliao-7499226 September 2020
Kano is based on a true historical event in 1931 in colonial Taiwan, when a no-name, no-good high school baseball team from Southern Taiwan took the whole society by storm by making it all the way to the 2nd place in the Japanese High School Baseball Tournament. Kano is a baseball story first and foremost. It is also a soul-searching journey. So I think it will be beneficial to offer a little bit of the background in both baseball and in Taiwan history.
Like any sports, there is no shortcut in becoming good at baseball other than a player's hard-work, determination, and of course talent. Baseball training was especially grueling at the time. For example, in order to train his players to field any play without fearing the incoming shot of the ball, coach Kondo made players practice until the blisters on the palms became hardened and thickened, and players no longer feel pain. In another example, a player recalled that during fielding practice the outfielders often had to run at full speed and even dive to catch a flyball, but they only got 5 second to get up and get ready before the next flyball came. Some students withdrew from the baseball team because of Kondo's spartan style training. For those high school boys who persisted, baseball is not just a sports or for fun, it is their creed.
Taiwan was ceded to the Imperial Japan in 1895 after the Ching Dynasty lost the Sino-Japanese war, beginning a 50-year-long Japanese colonial rule. In the early days, the schools were segregated. Many schools were exclusively for Japanese only. In many aspects of the society, Taiwanese ethnic Han people were treated as 2nd class citizens. And then there were those feisty, "uncivilized" Taiwanese tribal aborigines. Therefore it bears a significant meaning for Kano(Kagi Agricultural and Forestry School) to assemble a baseball team that is consisted of Japanese, Han Taiwanese, and Taiwanese aboriginal people. I would like to applaud coach Kondo for valuing ability and performance of a student before anything else.
Another fun fact is about the National High School Baseball Championship, commonly known as "Koshien Tournament". According to Wikipedia, there are over 4000 schools participating every year. After series of elimination from regional tournament, only 56 teams get to represent their own prefecture to compete nationally in the Koshien Stadium. Now remember the games are single elimination, meaning you either win or go home. Koshien is also one of the most important scouting events for the Japanese professional league. Players who shine in the tournament will be locked in and be offered lucrative contract to become professional baseball players as soon as they graduate. While for losers, this may be the end of their dream and to their life as a baseball player. The competition could not be any more fierce, and the stakes any higher. And such, Koshien Stadium is held as the sacred site and a great honor for all Japanese baseball fans.
Next year will be the 90th anniversary since Kano baseball team's historical win in 1931. Its victory and the spirit of never giving up ignited the frantic love of Taiwanese people for baseball, at a time when the island was in search of its identity and recognition. Today, near 90 years later, baseball remains THE national sports in Taiwan. The story of Kano is the pride and joy of Taiwan. And I hope it will continue to inspire and give courage to people around the world in this challenging and uncertain time.
Like any sports, there is no shortcut in becoming good at baseball other than a player's hard-work, determination, and of course talent. Baseball training was especially grueling at the time. For example, in order to train his players to field any play without fearing the incoming shot of the ball, coach Kondo made players practice until the blisters on the palms became hardened and thickened, and players no longer feel pain. In another example, a player recalled that during fielding practice the outfielders often had to run at full speed and even dive to catch a flyball, but they only got 5 second to get up and get ready before the next flyball came. Some students withdrew from the baseball team because of Kondo's spartan style training. For those high school boys who persisted, baseball is not just a sports or for fun, it is their creed.
Taiwan was ceded to the Imperial Japan in 1895 after the Ching Dynasty lost the Sino-Japanese war, beginning a 50-year-long Japanese colonial rule. In the early days, the schools were segregated. Many schools were exclusively for Japanese only. In many aspects of the society, Taiwanese ethnic Han people were treated as 2nd class citizens. And then there were those feisty, "uncivilized" Taiwanese tribal aborigines. Therefore it bears a significant meaning for Kano(Kagi Agricultural and Forestry School) to assemble a baseball team that is consisted of Japanese, Han Taiwanese, and Taiwanese aboriginal people. I would like to applaud coach Kondo for valuing ability and performance of a student before anything else.
Another fun fact is about the National High School Baseball Championship, commonly known as "Koshien Tournament". According to Wikipedia, there are over 4000 schools participating every year. After series of elimination from regional tournament, only 56 teams get to represent their own prefecture to compete nationally in the Koshien Stadium. Now remember the games are single elimination, meaning you either win or go home. Koshien is also one of the most important scouting events for the Japanese professional league. Players who shine in the tournament will be locked in and be offered lucrative contract to become professional baseball players as soon as they graduate. While for losers, this may be the end of their dream and to their life as a baseball player. The competition could not be any more fierce, and the stakes any higher. And such, Koshien Stadium is held as the sacred site and a great honor for all Japanese baseball fans.
Next year will be the 90th anniversary since Kano baseball team's historical win in 1931. Its victory and the spirit of never giving up ignited the frantic love of Taiwanese people for baseball, at a time when the island was in search of its identity and recognition. Today, near 90 years later, baseball remains THE national sports in Taiwan. The story of Kano is the pride and joy of Taiwan. And I hope it will continue to inspire and give courage to people around the world in this challenging and uncertain time.
HERO'S BATTLEFIELD LAND'S KANO
m-8637815 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This film can't be found in the biggest film app. Maybe there are some scenes that may lead to some political problems. But this is true, this is the truest history.
When I enjoyed this film, I only touch the brilliant points of seisyunn.
yes
syedabbas-5268528 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Towards the game and the entertainment it offered. This is not the best baseball movie I have ever seen, but definitely one of the best among them. I never heard this movie before, but once came to know, I was desperate to give it a try.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
