Spring is finally here, and with it comes America’s favorite pastime: baseball. Here in Boston, Fenway Park employees in all departments are getting themselves and the park ready for a busy six months or so. I would know because I’m one of them! So, while the Sox are still in Spring Training, you can get your baseball fix with this week’s movie. Here is the Bitchin’ Bio on Field of Dreams.
Release Date: May 5, 1989
Synopsis: When Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), new to farming, hears a voice in his Iowa cornfield, he cuts down a large section of his crop to build a baseball diamond. The field attracts the spirit of his father’s hero, the long-deceased White Sox player “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), who eventually asks if he can bring the rest of his disgraced team to play there. Ray, his wife, Annie (Amy Madigan), and their daughter, Karin (Gaby Hoffmann), enjoy watching the guys play, but it turns out that not everyone can see them. On the verge of losing their home, Ray takes a road trip to Boston to meet author Terrence Mann (James Earl Jones), who he believes is involved in the voice’s plan for his miracle baseball field.
How I Watched It: Available to rent on Amazon Prime
Degrees of Kevin Bacon: 1. Kevin Costner stars with Bacon in the 1991 film JFK.
Come For: In my case, Fenway Park! It’s endlessly exciting to see a place you know well on screen. I went back after I finished the movie to decipher which parts of the park they were in and to see them drive over the bridge I walk over to get to work.
Stay For: A funny, effective, poignant rollercoaster of a story. You don’t need to love baseball to enjoy this movie. Whatever your passion is, you will understand the feeling of finding a community that shares your passion with you.
Had I Seen It? As much as I love ‘80s movies, I know that I have blind spots. I just can’t believe that this was one of them! I have had it on my list for a long time, but I had not seen it.
Did I Like It? I absolutely adored it. I cannot remember the last time I was so emotionally affected by a film. It didn’t matter that I had predicted a few of the plot points because they were so well executed that by the time those points came around, I openly wept for around 15 minutes straight at the end of the film.
I don’t know how, working where I do, I hadn’t seen this movie before. Though I am the first to admit I have never understood the rules of the game the way that diehard fans do, I love watching baseball in person. There is a palpable energy that fans bring to the park. It buzzes with excitement on any day of the season. I thought that you had to be there to feel it, but somehow this movie captures how special that experience is. It is a privilege to watch generations come together to share and enjoy something, and I realized it even more while watching Field of Dreams how lucky I am to be even a small part of that tradition. The magic of film and baseball come together in this beautiful movie, and I am so incredibly happy that my father shared it with my little sister and me.
If you liked this one, you might enjoy: The Sandlot (1993). It might not be quite as touching, but the scene when the boys play in the lot while the Independence Day fireworks go off especially captures the same feeling as Field of Dreams. Also, James Earl Jones once again plays a baseball enthusiast!
Thanks for reading. Next time, we’ll cover another classic film, so stay tuned!
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