KANO

In 1931, a high school baseball team from Taiwan travels to Japan to take part in a national tournament. The players are farmers' sons and students from a rural school, coached by a Japanese former player who has settled on the island. The film follows the team as it prepares for the competition and faces opponents from far larger and better-funded schools once it reaches the mainland.

This Taiwanese historical drama is directed by Umin Boya, the first of two features he has made, and written and produced by Wei Te-sheng. Masatoshi Nagase plays coach Hyotaro Kondo, with Tsao Yu-ning as player Meisho Go, Takao Osawa as engineer Yoichi Hatta, Yuma Okura, Togo Igawa and Maki Sakai in supporting roles. The film runs just over three hours.

Made for about 9 million US dollars, KANO took roughly 11 million worldwide, a modest return against its cost. On IMDb it holds a 7.7 rating from around 2,500 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7 out of 10 from a much smaller group of about 38 voters.