Field of Dreams

"If you build it, he will come." 

Ray Kinsella looks about his cornfield for the source of the ghostly whisper. Angrily he stomps about challenging whoever to come out. He wants answers. Thus begins Ray's quest that takes him to Boston and Chisholm, Minnesota. In the end we learn about redemption and what heaven may be like.

Field of Dreams is a modern fantasy that shows us a man's quest once he has been contacted by Shoeless Joe Jackson from the cornfield (from beyond). These elements are prevalent in many fantasy stories, but what makes Dreams more popular to the general masses is its subtlety. Baseball players coming out of a cornfield, a place of life and growth, a symbol of American industry and vitality, makes a delicate suggestion upon reality. The farm with its large white house has grounded us, yet through Ray, played by Kevin Costner, we are easily pulled into the magic and believe. It becomes real.

We join in Ray's quest. We sit dutifully next to Ray and Terrance Mann on the first baseline of the night game at Fenway. We feel despair when Doc Graham denies his chance to play again, and we are revitalized when the rookie Graham resurfaces on a ribbon of highway. Ah, then Terrance Mann (James Earl Jones) enchants us with his tribute to baseball. It is the "one constant" as America changes and grows. Baseball is a symbol "of all that is good." He tells us that we need our heroes and to hold on to our dreams. "People will come, Ray."

And in the twilight of an Iowa sun, the question "Is this heaven?" is answered quietly when he looks at the porch of the farmhouse where his wife and daughter sit on a swing.

If you have not seen this film, go rent it, sit back lazily with an ice tea and witness the enchantment. If you are fan, "go the distance" and visit the movie again. Oh, and after, go have a catch.