Field of Dreams

So, I just saw Field of Dreams again. I had such a great time watching this movie again I had to write down some of my thoughts on it and share.

I had it on my instant queue for a while, knowing that I liked the movie, but never really in the mood to see it again. Got home late, didn't feel like sleep so I decided to watch this movie again. Upon viewing it, I realized this movie is just as good, if not better, than my number 1 sports movie of all time: Rudy.

I think the last time I saw this I was probably still in high school. At the time, I knew it was a father/son movie, but I missed some of the bigger things that were going on. For example, there are many idealistic and fairy tale elements that blur the lines between reality, and what we aspire to be. What we are, and where we came from, over time become more important to us. The last line in the credits reads "for our parents." I read some other reviews, and one thing another reviewer said was, like all great sports movies, the sports are just a vehicle for telling the story. I couldn't agree more. In Rudy, it was a story about chasing a dream that only you believe in, and in that success, inspiring others. In this movie, yes it was a father son movie, but I didn't understand why completely. Now that I know, I don't know how I didn't see it before.

At one point, Ray says he never forgave his father for getting old. I remember that, but I never got why it was important until the end. It's because as a 17 year old shit, he got into an argument with his Father and stormed off. Of course, 17 year old shits do that all the time, so you can't really hold that against him. Unfortunately, what happens is that his father was very old when Ray was born, so a few years after Ray stormed out, his father died, thus denying Ray the ability to ask for forgiveness. Ray lives with this grief most of his life. The only solace he can find, is in his mind, going back to a simplier time when he was just a kid, and all there was was playing catch with his dad. The movie takes that, adds the fantasy/fairy tale element, and lets Ray forgive himself. Now, that's heavy heavy stuff I did not catch when I saw this a first time. So much so that I was shedding man tears for most of that end sequence. Another reviewer said he was too, despite knowing every twist and turn. Crazy that a movie can do that even when you know its coming.

So, in summation, I think you should re-watch this movie whenever you get a chance. Oh and also, the James Earl Jones "BASEBALL" speech is awesome.

-Chris