Field of Dreams Movie--It's About Baseball, Right?

Ask ten people what the Field of Dreams movie is about, and more than likely nine will say "it's a baseball movie". And those same nine people probably know that even after 24 years, they can still find the Field of Dreams in Iowa, located just outside the small farming community of Dyersville. After all, Shoeless Joe famously asked the farmer, "Is this heaven?" That question, and the reply Joe got, still live on bumper stickers throughout the Hawkeye State: "No, it's Iowa."

Would the nine people who labeled Field of Dreams 'a baseball movie' be correct? Not by a long shot. But they wouldn't be totally wrong, either. The focus of the film centers around an Iowa farmer who hears a whispering voice, suggesting that if he builds a baseball field in the middle of his corn crop, Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other banned members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox team will get to come back and play baseball again. Despite the insanity of it all, the farmer builds the field and the dead ballplayers magically emerge from the corn. So it's true that parts of the movie do focus on a baseball field and the legendary ball players who show up there. But this movie has so much more to offer.

Now, what if ten die-hard Field of Dreams fans were asked the same question: what's the movie all about? Would these devoted fans call it 'a baseball movie'? Not by a long shot. Ardent Field of Dreams fans know that baseball is merely the vehicle being used to tell a story. True fans, even those from other countries, know the vehicle will take them on a magical ride, a ride full of heartwarming messages about love, family, redemption and second chances.

Steve from England puts it this way: "I'm English, so the element of baseball was lost on me. What hit home, however, is that people are flawed. What we want from our parents as young people surpasses what we ourselves can achieve as adults. The film really isn't a baseball film. It's really about second chances, a chance to say hello to our fathers again after we've had the opportunity to understand ourselves about the working ways of this world."

Dave Marshall, also from England, says: "Field of Dreams has had a haunting effect on me since I first saw it. I was a 15-year old teenager when my father passed away. I am 59 years old now. The grief, the lost chances...like lead they stick to you. When the need to talk with your father about life's paradoxes arises, it's impossible. Those chances are gone, forever. Those who are stung by loss, can take comfort in this Field of Dreams movie : it has a center, and it opens up a gateway to the heart. This film is masterful, it stays inside you long after you've first seen it."

Inverness, Scotland resident Franks adds this: "This movie deals with a good amount of baseball, a sport I've never taken a fancy to, but I allowed this Field of Dreams movie a chance. 107 minutes later, I was reduced to a flow of tears that were interrupted only by the smile on my face that stretched from ear to ear. This film comes closer to perfection that any other movie I've ever seen. Anyone shying away thinking this might be a baseball movie, please reconsider. It's not about baseball. The sport serves as a backdrop for a story about loss, reconciliation, parents, and having the courage to pursue your dreams. It's a universal and timeless film...simply beautiful."