Sara and I re-watched “Field of Dreams” (1989) and once again  were swept away by this magical fantasy story. This is about as close as it comes to a perfect movie. In fact it is my #1 Sports movie in that genre. While the sport is baseball, you don’t have to be a baseball fan to love it. It’s really more about dreams and redemption of the best kind.

Here’s my review:

FIELD OF DREAMS  4.0***

    I truly believe that every once in a blue moon, a film comes along which contains a remarkable sense of wonder coupled with the power of dreams. The title says it all: "Field of Dreams” which has become an American classic. This film  reaffirms that dreams can come true and people can be saved by what they  believe in. And to top it all off, baseball is its subject. The great American pastime takes on a mystical quality that adds to the magic of the story

Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, an Iowa corn farmer who seems to be stranded in his life.  One day, while roaming aimlessly through his cornfield, he hears a unknown voice speak to him saying the words that have become synonymous with the film itself, "If you build it, he will come." He is compelled by the strange message and comes to believe that the words mean he is to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield, and he sets out to do just that, and indeed does one heck of a great job.  Nothing comes of it until one night somebody in a 1920's baseball uniform turns up on the baseball diamond ready to play baseball. This happens to be the great Shoeless Joe Jackson who is dead but has come back to play the game he was banned from playing.  Other Baseball greats soon join him to play. When the voice continues, Ray seeks out a reclusive author played by James Earl Jones to help him understand the meaning of the messages and the purpose for his baseball diamond. For Ray it’s a journey of self-discovery with some truly beautiful moments.

It's not just  the film/story that delivers, it's also the actors who make this delightful tale come to life. Kevin Costner is surrounded by other great actors in Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan and Burt Lancaster, and he wisely lets these actors dominate the scenes that he shares with them . However, Costner is the glue that binds the whole film together … his is a very engaging performance for which he should have gotten more recognition.

"Field of Dreams" is one of the most fascinating films I've seen, and one of the best. I was deeply moved like Costner and Jones were by the miraculous incidents put in front of them. Anybody who likes a “feel good” film like “It’s a Wonderful Life” will also fall in love with this movie .  

This is a DO NOT MISS movie.

Rating: PG