KANO

From Cape No. 7 and Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale to KANO, the director-turned-producer Wei Tesheng sets the screen alight once more with this baseball movie. Its starting point is the 1930s, when the Taiwanese squad KANO managed the feat of reaching the finals at the legendary Japanese stadium of Koshien; we then retrace the steps of their adventures, celebrating their sporting spirit and harmony amongst the peoples. Baseball can be considered Taiwan’s national sport; it has been played there professionally for over a century, since Japanese colonialism. It has been a firm favourite with the local population since the foundation of the professional league, despite changes in governance and various bet-fixing scandals. A dive into past glories, KANO is Wei Te-Sheng’s latest historical film exploring the island of Formosa and attempting to break down the cultural barriers that exist between the different ethnicities.

The name “KANO” is a Japanese abbreviation for “Kagi Agricultural School,” which was where the team was born. From the 1930s, it was entrusted to the Japanese coach Kondo Hyotaru, a strong-willed man with very strict methods, who inspired both a strong dedication to the sport and spiritual growth. His commitment brought to the fore the team spirit which radically transformed this aimless, mediocre team, leading them to win the regional Taiwanese championship and represent the whole island in the final at the Koshien stadium. Even the Japanese spectators were amazed and in awe of this small squad from the South Seas. KANO not only distinguished themselves for their technical ability, but especially for Kondo’s skill in bringing out the best in each player and for his philosophy of life which he expressed via baseball.

The squad was a kind of “multi-racial” mix, successfully marrying the qualities of the Han Chinese, the Japanese and the Taiwanese aborigines, a vital new entity which went beyond any idiosyncrasy thanks to the team spirit which united the players. It is Kondo Hyotaru’s lessons in life, with mottos such as “rather than winning at any cost, think that you absolutely must not lose” and “he who wavers in his heart, wavers also in his pitch,” that bring out the best in the players. In the film, the dramatic tension is constantly kept high thanks to the on-pitch rivalry, with results ranging from depressing defeats to stunning victories. The narrative follows the classic inspirational film lines, but the rush to the final climax at the Koshien keeps us glued to our seats thanks to the realism of the scenes and the actors playing the parts, each and every one perfectly cast.

Compared to Seediq Bale, which is also based on a real-life story, KANO is free from tragic elements, and it presents another side of the island in the same historical period: 30 years after Japanese colonialisation, we see life in the villages, with theatres and book stands along the roads, as well as typically Western objects such as radios, skirts, cars, medicines, etc. We also bear witness to the opening of the Chianan Irrigation Waterworks, created by the engineer Hatta Yoichi, which were greatly beneficial to the everyday lives of the farmers. Along with the work carried out by the Kagi School in teaching agriculture, the waterworks managed to boost the local population’s faith in their future.

Translation from Chinese to Italian by Francesco Nati