Rating of
4/4
If you build it...
patjohnson76 - wrote on 12/03/07
A movie that has been appreciated more over time, Field of Dreams tells the Capra-like tale of Ray Kinsella, who hears a mysterious voice to build a baseball field so the banned Shoeless Joe Jackson can return and play (along with the other members of the Black Sox Scandal). Subsequent interactions include tracking down a reclusive writer and young ball player looking for his chance to play. While baseball serves as the visual, deep down it serves as a metaphor between fathers and sons, the one game that has bonded them for decades. Ray spends time in the film trying to prove he's not his father but his regret at their failed relationship is what pulls at him more. Ray's building of the field symbolizes the ways he tries to make amends with his deceased father, and it results in an emotional payoff at the end, and ending that has more impact if you find yourself in a simlar situation like Ray's - longing for a catch with your dad.
I don't really classify this as a "sports" movie. Yes, it involves baseball and its legends but this truly is a film about fathers and sons, taking chances, and seizing life. For me it had a greater impact after my own father passed away. I've seen this movie so many times and those final moments still give me chills.
