It takes a humble man to overcome such pride, and Kevin Costner’s wonderful portrayal of an honest, sincere, and fearful Ray Kinsella is what makes this story ring true.įield of Dreams captures the father-son relationship so well and so mysteriously that men who watch it are profoundly affected by it, and women who watch it are often in the unusual position of being on the outside looking in on a meaningful and emotional relationship. What hits home is the story of the friction that has somehow developed between a father and a son, a friction that pride has ignited and turned into a relational inferno. It could just as easily be a story about fishing in the 19th century, or vintage cars today, or woodworking a thousand years ago. They are not what makes Field of Dreams such a powerful, life-changing story. These details about the sport or the era aren’t that important. Ray left home as soon as he could, and never looked back. Having grown up in much harder times, John didn’t understand his son’s restless and ungrateful generation, and a shared love for baseball wasn’t enough. John Kinsella had little to offer his son except the great love of his life, baseball. It began at home, when the death of Ray’s mother left an older father, John, to raise his son alone. Although Ray was influenced by the anti-establishment culture of the 1960s he grew up in, his defiance of authority was nothing new. The common foundation of Field of Dreams starts with Ray’s roots of rebellion. As each piece of the puzzle falls into place, Ray is reminded more and more of what was important to his long-dead father, and begins to see the things that divided them in a new light. Field of Dreams is both a family drama and a mystery, one that takes Ray on a journey of discovery that slowly reveals the meaning of the voices he has begun hearing when alone. No matter how many blessings he’s been given since leaving home - a beautiful wife, an adorable daughter, a respectable living as a farmer in a (relatively) peaceful, small town community - the memory of his father becomes a pocket of discontent in his soul.īut as the movie begins, even Ray doesn’t realize how important his relationship with his father was. Directed by Phil Alden Robinson, and starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan, and Ray Liotta, Field of Dreams is a story about an ordinary man, Ray Kinsella, whose life is haunted by the fractured relationship he had with his father. One such 1986 film was Nothing in Common, starring Tom Hanks and the great Jackie Gleason, in his final silver screen appearance, and shortly before his death.īut no film has captured the indescribable bond between a father and son better than the 1989 mystical baseball movie, Field of Dreams. (Even The Godfather is as much about family as it is organized crime.) But sometimes, a film comes along that puts the unique father-son relationship front and center in a marvelous way. Stories about the relationship between fathers and sons are rarer, and are often submerged in the periphery of bigger stories, taking a back seat to themes of significance or survival. Other great mother-daughter films include Akeelah and the Bee, starring Angela Basset Steel Magnolias, starring Sally Field and Julia Roberts, and more recently, Everything Everywhere All at Once, which featured Stephanie Hsu and the charismatic Michelle Yeoh. The relationship between mothers and daughters is also unique, and celebrated in films like Terms of Endearment, which dominated the Oscars in 1984, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Actress, and Best Actor. Related: These Are Movies About Sisters We Can't Live Without These include the numerous versions of the classic novel, Little Women (the latest coming in 2019, starring Saorise Ronan, Emma Watson, and Timothée Chalamet), or the thought-provoking Woody Allen film, Hannah and Her Sisters, or the competitive themes found in pop culture movies like 27 Dresses, or A League of Their Own. And there are also wonderful stories about the special relationships sisters have.
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