6th Okinawa International Movie Festival

Both gorilla films and baseball pics have a long history in the world of cinema, but never before have they been combined into one.

Okinawa International Movie Fest proudly presented the Korean-Chinese co-production hit, Mr. Go. From King Kong to George of the Jungle gorilla movies have thrilled filmgoers, now they can mix those simian classics with A League of their Own and Field of Dreams.

A charming family-run Chinese circus has been taken over by 15-year old Weiwei (Jaio Xu) after her grandfather was killed in the Great Sichuan Earthquake. Based in the outback of China, the troupe has some unique features like bat-swinging gorilla Lingling, who has an uncanny ability to hit a thrown baseball. The circus suffers from crushing debt and Weiwei has no choice but to accept an offer from unscrupulous Korean sports agent Sung (Dong-il Song) for Lingling to play professional baseball. She accompanies the massive gorilla to Korea as his trainer and the newborn simian sports star is dubbed Mr. Go.

But the forces of evil and greed set traps for the unknowing gorilla and his naive trainer. Like a cross between the early Hollywood action flick Mighty Joe Young (1949) and the quaint and quirky Japanese love story Max, Mon Amour (1986), the film utilizes the brute strength and compassion of the great ape.

This Chinese-Korean co-production became a number 1 box office smash in China. It wove its spell over a packed house at the Festival, adding a new chapter to gorilla films.