FIELD OF DREAMS, 1989
Movie Reviews!

Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice in his corn field tell him, "If you build it, he will come." He interprets this message as an instruction to build a baseball field on his farm, upon which appear the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series. When the voices continue, Ray seeks out a reclusive author to help him understand the meaning of the messages and the purpose for his field.

REVIEW:

FIELD OF DREAMS is the idealist side of my personality. Heavy on the sentiment and thick on the themes and passions of life that I also represent. I believe in everything in FIELD OF DREAMS and in a lot of ways it's how I live my life. Not to mention that I am a rapid baseball fan as I fell for this sport right away, despite all of the roadblocks that were in my way. I was raised in Canada and hockey is always #1 and #2 is a very distant 2nd. None of my friends growing up didn't like the sport all that much either. But my dad did, eventhough he wasn't a raving fun of the game life I am.

So FIELD OF DREAMS has me hooked and I must watch this film at least once a year.

When I was taking acting classes in order to understand what these people do so I could direct them one day, I chose the James Earl Jones'"people will come" monologue from this film when I had to do a class assignment. And I still have that monolog memorized. I was a terrible actor but I had everyone convinced when I performed because it felt so close to my heart. The teacher and my fellow classmates were actually shocked how good I was because I never could get out of my head in anything previously that I did in the class. That's when I realized what acting was all monolog need to convince your heart that way you're saying or doing is true. And monolog that truth in the context of the character and story you're doing. And if you can do that, then you're a great actor. I can only do that for the FIELD OF DREAMS monolog.

The main character Ray follows his instincts and builds a baseball field because voices are telling him to. Usually that leads to going into the insane asylum, but for Ray it gives him and others their spark of life back. The 1919 Black Sox get to come back and play the game they love. A past ballplayer gets his chance to have that at bat in the majors. And a once great writer who has hidden in seclusion for 20 years comes back to write the mysteries of the human heart (or at least that's what I think happens when he enters the cornfield). But what's in it for Ray? That finally comes in the tearful ending of this film that makes me cry everytime I see it.

If you happen to be a son to a father, a father to a son, or both, FIELD OF DREAMS will bring back a lot of feelings. I think of my relationship with my father and that's why I always cry in the end. My dad and me haven't spoken for years and we probably will never speak again. I wish we could but I always got the feeling every since I was very young that my father didn't like me much. And because he hasn't gone out of his way to talk to me, I believe my instincts are true now. If I'm not around, then I don't exist in his eyes!