ScreenFish

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documentary

Reporting from Slamdance – Docs of Empowerment

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Time to take a look at some of the feature length docs showing at Slamdance. I’m pulling some films together here from a couple of sections, but the films I’m looking at for this report are about community, voice, and empowerment, either as a group or individuals.

Jason Polevoi’s A Tiny Ripple of Hope is making its world premiere at Slamdance. The film follows activist Jahmal Cole as he seeks to influence the lives of high school students and bring change to Chicago through his non-profit “My Block, My Hood, My City.” The foundational idea is that for many young people in poorer sections of Chicago, they only know their immediate surroundings. By taking them other places, even within the city (but also elsewhere) it broadens their view of the world and provides hope of better life. As the film progresses we see how the task he has taken up brings a great deal of personal stress into his life: his house in in foreclosure, his marriage is in trouble, he must work through depression.

It is clear that this organization has a wonderful effect on some of the lives it touches, even though it is a very limited program. The title comes from a quote from Robert Kennedy, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope…” Ripples of hope such as Jahmal Cole brings to Chicago can grow into larger waves. It’s not just about what we see happening in this film, but about what it might inspire us to do in our own block, hood, and city

End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock by Shannon Kring is also making its world premiere at the festival. In 2016, Native American peoples joined together to try to prevent the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. The film follows some of the women who were involved in leading the protests that gained national attention. The tribal complaints were about the danger of the pipeline fouling the water for the reservation (and many others downstream), as well as damage being done to sacred heritage sites. A key objection was that the process did not respect the sovereignty of the Lakota people. As the protests gain momentum, we see the pushback from the government and police. Whereas the protestors were unarmed, the police used lots of pepper spray and “non-lethal” ammunition against them.

Along with documenting the protests (which also attracted supporters from a wide range of non-Native groups, including clergy), the film chronicles the abusive way the government has treated indigenous people throughout history. It notes that it wasn’t until 1985 that native people had the right to raise their own families—not having children taken away for schooling and raised without cultural contact. Eventually, under President Trump, the pipeline was completed, but the fight of those involved continues in many ways.

What began as a once-a-week ten week program for six African-American middle school girls in East Baltimore is the focus of Anatomy of Wings, directed by Kristen D’Andrea Hollander and Nikiea Redmond. The program was run by a local arts college and taught the girls video skills. They discovered that the cameras not only recorded the world around them, it created a way for them to be heard. Through the years, the girls created a very intimate bond between themselves, their mentors, and others who joined the group.

This film was filmed over an 11 year period to show bits of the important issues they shared with each other and the ways this helped to form them as women as they entered adulthood, some becoming mothers, some going to college, others into jobs.

Photos courtesy of Slamdance Film Fesival.

Bobbi Jo: Under the Influence – Safe at Home

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Bobbi Jo: Under the Influence focuses its lens on the life and impact of Kansas City social worker Bobbi Jo Reed. Having turned to drinking and drugs at a young age, Bobbi Jo’s life spiraled further out of control. Left broken and destitute by a life of abuse and prostitution, Bobbi Jo rediscovered her spiritual faith. Now in her mid-30s, Bobbi Jo felt called to use her newfound strength to help others in need. With the development of the ministry at Healing House, Bobbi Jo and her team have seen amazing results by helping more than 8,000 men and women transformed by discovering the power of faith, love and family.

Written and directed by Brent L. Jones, Bobbi Jo: Under the Influence is a powerful documentary of how God can use one person’s shattered story to bring hope and healing to many others. With an emphasis on one particular person and their impact, Jones keeps the film simple and straightforward with its focus. This is not a film about the nature of addiction or the larger problems that plague Kansas City but rather, as the title suggests, the testimony of one person and the impact that they have had with others. By exploring Bobbi Jo’s past and how it led to the development of Healing House, Jones seems to step back and simply allows the story to tell itself. In the process, the film feels very personal as Bobbi Jo is given the freedom to be open about her past battles with addiction without hinderance.

What struck me most about Bobbi Jo’s story is that she’s so… ordinary. For Bobbi Jo, her success lies not in her grand public speaking or any amazing skills. Instead, Jones presents her as a woman who has seen the worst parts of herself and found redemption in her faith. In fact, for the first third of the film, Jones allows Bobbi Jo to share her life’s narrative in grand detail. Having suffered with addiction and prostitution since her youth, she rediscovered her faith and found the strength to ‘get clean’ in her mid-30s. However, even after all her struggles that she has overcome, there’s a humility within Bobbi Jo that Jones allows to come to the surface. 

She understands what it means to feel lost… and she’s determined to help others who feel the same today.

While it may seem like a cliché to suggest that Bobbi Jo is fearless in her pursuit of helping others, it does seem to apply here. (If you’re unsure about that particular word choice, a story about her confronting a man with an AK-47 on Thanksgiving may justify it to you…) Coming out of addiction herself, she understands the needs of those on the street and she has thrown open her doors to reach as many as possible. From the moment that they arrive at Healing House, new residents are welcomed ‘home’ and treated with love and respect. (For many of the residents, this is the first time that they can say such a thing.) Essential to the foundation of the ministry is that this will be a place of safety where they can heal. They’re given clean clothes, a new room and help acquiring their personal identification.

Most importantly though, they’re given a fresh start.

You see, the beauty of Bobbi Jo’s story is her stunning commitment to the broken. By recognizing that all people have value, she is able to accept them with their flaws and see hope for them moving forward. With a passion to stand alongside addicts, ex-convicts, prostitutes and more, Influence shows the incredible power and influence that Healing House has in allowing its residents to have all that they need to begin again. Through each testimony with the film, Influence highlights the fact that Bobbi Jo is willing to help anyone who truly wants to get well. While not everyone succeeds in breaking free of their past issues, there are countless others whose lives have been turned around by Bobbi Jo and her amazing work at Healing House. To them, she has become far more than another community service worker.

She is their mother, friend and pastor.

While Bobbi Jo: Under the Influence may not be a flashy documentary, it does provide some well-deserved press for an organization that doesn’t seem to be well known outside of its sphere of influence. Anchored by her faith, Bobbi Jo and her team continue to build something amazing in Kansas City that changes lives on a daily basis.

Maybe this film will help change some more.

Bobbi Jo: Under the Influence is now available on VOD.

Reporting from Slamdance – Holy Frit

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“It can’t be the biggest shitty window in the world. It has to be the biggest and the best.”

Holy Frit, an amazing documentary directed by Justin Monroe, is making its world premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival. It is the story of the making of the world’s largest stained glass window to go into the new facility of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City. It was to be 100’ long and 40’ high. (That’s a little longer and a little narrower than a basketball court.)

The window was created by the Judson Studios, a family-owned company going back generations. Tim Carey, who had worked as a painter was inspired to work in this medium. When the church was looking for companies that could make such a window, Judson was one of the few in the world they considered. Carey made the presentation and the company got the contract. The only problem was, in spite of all their experience, no one really knew how to make such a window.

And so began a three year project that brought together Carey, company owner David Judson, and stained glass innovator Narcissus Quagliata. It is sometimes great cooperation, and at times a clash of egos. They had to learn new ways of making the glass. And they also raced against the deadline to get the 161 4’x5’ panels created. It was a challenging task, but one, when you see the finished product was well worth it.

The process of making a stained glass window is interesting enough on its own. But to see the work and artistry that went into this project makes it even more intriguing. And artistry is what this film is really about. As we see some of the panels come together we can appreciate each one. When the face of Christ is revealed we are in awe. And to see it in its finished form is astounding.

The window includes various bits of biblical stories to keep the window within the linage of church stained glass used to educate and proclaim the gospel. It also includes a number of people throughout church history who form a “cloud of witnesses”. But the dominant figure in the window is the risen Christ.

At one point in the film, Quagliata mentions that when one enters into such a project, they will come out a different person. We clearly see that in Carey’s case. He grows in many ways as he goes through this, but it also takes a toll on him and his family. It also takes a toll on his relationship with the studio he works for.

The film’s one shortcoming would be that it only briefly touches on the ethical/theological/economic question of churches spending such large amounts of money on art projects such as this. I am not one of those who would argue that this is not an appropriate use of money within a church context, but I certainly know people who would raise the issue. Those issues cannot be easily dismissed.

@Sundance: Rebel Hearts

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“Clearly we were in a boat that needed desperately to be rocked.”

The 1960s was a turbulent time. Society was struggling with the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, and the early groanings of the women’s movement. For many, the church (especially the Roman Catholic Church) was the place they expected stability, tradition, an unchanging constant. But it was not to be. Rebel Heart, from director Pedro Kos, is part of the U.S. Documentary section at Sundance Film Festival. The film chronicles a group of nuns that sought to serve people and be relevant to their times, but ran into heavy opposition from the church hierarchy.

The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ran a college in Hollywood. As the 60s came there were many changes in the air. Those nuns who taught at the college were all well educated and were well aware of the ideas that were current. When the changes that followed Vatican II began to take hold, the order entered into contemplation of what it would mean for them. They began to make changes in their daily lives, including not wearing the traditional habit, and choosing the work they would do.

The archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal McIntyre, did not take well to the changes or the attitude of the Immaculate Heart sisters. McIntyre was a very conservative church leader. He was also very authoritarian in his approach to leading the diocese. It was inevitable that there would be a conflict.

The film focuses most of its time on what was going on within the Immaculate Heart community. We see the nuns working to do the ministries they saw themselves called to. But the film also gives us a good social setting for understanding what was happening. It was certainly a time of great social upheaval. At least one of the nuns from Immaculate Heart marched at Selma. Another nun, Corita Kent, was becoming a well known artist. The changes brought by Vatican II were seen by many as fresh air coming into the church, but by others as dangerous ideas. The nuns of Immaculate Heart had to come to terms for themselves where they fit with all of this. And for many it was a very difficult decision about how they would live their lives.

The film serves as an interesting case study of the struggles the church must continuously deal with in a changing world. It also reflects the struggles between freedom and authoritarianism both in and out of the church. To what extent should we bow to tradition and structure, and how much to innovation?

It is not only the Catholic Church that has struggled with change. It seems a truism that pastors will get either of two disparaging answers when they suggest a change: We tried that before, or we’ve never done it that way. Of course, we know that the church has never really been unchanging. But it never seems to be easy.

Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute.

The Reunited States: Bridging the Divide

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A few weeks ago, a lawless mob stormed the United States Capitol in anger over the Presidential election. Two weeks later a newly inaugurated President Biden said, “This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge. And unity is the path forward. And we must meet this moment as the United States of America. If we do that, I guarantee you we will not fail. We have never, ever, ever, ever failed in America when we’ve acted together.” It is easy to call for unity, but can a nation, so utterly divided, come together? Ben Rekhi’s documentary The Reunited States offers some visions of how to bridge the divide.

The film focuses on a handful of people who seek a new way. We meet a former Republican operative from Texas, who has had enough of the strife. Along with his wife and children, he sells his home, buys an RV and sets off to meet people in every state to hear their stories. We also meet the mother of the woman who was killed when a man drove into a crowd in Charlottesville. She was never very political, but she knows that her grief grows out of the anger that fills America. We meet the founder of the Millennial Action Project which brings together young state and federal legislators of both parties from around the country to connect them to each other and make reaching across the aisle more likely. And we meet an independent candidate running for governor in Kansas as he campaigns, seeking to say there are alternatives to just the blue and red divisions.

The common thread that runs through all of these experiences is hearing the stories of others. We see that especially in the journey of David and Erin Leaverton, the couple who traveled for a year. They would come to an area and invite people to dinner to talk, to listen, to empathize and understand. They met people very different from themselves. They heard stories that touched them. And we see as their trip progresses that it is changing them. Their friends and family fear that they will turn Democrat, but it seems more like they are becoming very independent. And they believe that it is through talking to people with different ideas that we can understand without anger.

The most hopeful part for me was the Millennial Action Project. For all the ridicule that has been directed at the Millennial Generation, the young men and women we meet here, those who have entered politics early on, have visions that often are not limited by political ideology, but rather by a calling to serve people in their state and nation. If they can connect to one another in the MAP settings, the relationships they build can be a way of breaking the partisan divide.

But the film is not blind to the challenge of overcoming the divisions that have grown for decades. It wants to show the world that there are options and that there are ways that each of us can take part in groups and activities that seek to reunite us rather than fuel further division. If they inspire viewers to become active in reconciliation efforts, the film will have done a valuable service.

I’ll leave with a bit more from President Biden’s Inaugural Address, words that I’m sure the filmmakers and participants in this film will applaud: “And so today at this time in this place, let’s start afresh, all of us. Let’s begin to listen to one another again. Hear one another, see one another, show respect to one another. Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path.”

The Reunited States is available through virtual cinema via local theaters, and will soon be available on VOD.

The Reason I Jump – Inside Autism

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Films have to ability to take us into unknown worlds—maybe through science fiction, or a setting in a different culture or time period. When I’m in a theater (ah, those were the days!) and the lights go down I feel a bit of excitement about where we will travel to today. The Reason I Jump, a documentary by Jerry Rothwell, tries to take us inside the world of autism. It’s probably an impossible goal to fully achieve, but it succeeds in giving us some understanding of what that world is like.

The film is based on book of the same title written by Naoki Higashida, when he was thirteen years old to try to explain what it was like for him to live with autism. Part of what makes this so impressive is that Naoki does not speak, yet he has written an amazingly elegant book to describe his life. Naoki does not appear in the film. He wanted his words to be enough.

The film uses his words to give us his insights—his way of experiencing the world that is so different from our own. It mixes these perceptions with glimpses into the lives of five people with autism, in India, the UK, the US, and Sierra Leone. Each of them is non-speaking. Yet we learn that they are not without thoughts and feelings. Between these glimpse Rothwell also includes shots of a young Japanese boy wandering various landscapes full of visual diversity.

The result is at times poetic (both verbally and visually) as well is eye-opening. We discover that as strange and challenging as the world of autism may seem to us, our world is just as strange and challenging to the people we meet. Early on, we hear Naoki’s words as he describes the difference in how he imagines we see things (first noticing the whole of an object and then the details), and how he experiences all the details and then must interpret that into the overall object. The film does a wonderful job of visualizing that difference.

For some people with autism who do not speak, it may be because they have so many words and thoughts in their mind that they have a hard time bringing order to them. For others it is just something that stands in the way of the words and the speaking. But all those we meet have words and ideas that they find ways of bringing forth—perhaps through art or by using an alphabet board to point letter by letter to form the words they cannot speak.

The film also touches a bit on the stigma that often accompanies autism. This is especially true when we meet the young woman in Sierra Leone. There (and elsewhere through the ages) people with autism were treated as possessed, witches, or sub-human. They have been locked away in institutions and even killed because of their differentness. The Reason I Jump helps us to understand autism as a very different understanding of reality that these people live in. And it allows us to hear what they cannot say.

The Reason I Jump is available on virtual cinema through local arthouses.

Photos courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Alabama Snake – Death by Faith?

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“Do you think we believe what we want?”

“It may be the other way around; we believe things whether we want to or not.”

Theo Love’s true crime doc Alabama Snake is a search for truth amidst conflicting accounts. Finding the truth may rest more on what we believe and what we believe about the people involved than on what facts we come across. It could also be that those involved have come to believe their stories whether they are factual or not.

On October 4, 1991, a crime was reported in Scottsboro, Alabama. EMTs went to a rural home and found Darlene Summerford in very grave condition from a snakebite. She managed to survive, but soon thereafter her husband Glenn was arrested for attempted murder. Glenn Summerford was the pastor at a Pentecostal church that included snake handling. He kept various snakes in the home. Darlene’s story is that Glenn forced her to put her hand in the cage of one of the snakes. Glenn says Darlene was trying to kill herself. Can we tell who is telling the truth?

The story is related with conversations with witnesses to the events and through reenactments. Much of the film is based on research done by Dr. Thomas G. Burton, a now retired academic who had a particular interest in Appalachian life. Among those we meet as this tale unfolds are the paramedics who responded to the emergency call; the current police chief in Scottsboro, who was a young officer at the time; the lead investigator in the case, now retired; the court reporter from Glenn’s trial; Glenn’s first wife, Doris; and Glenn and Darlene’s son, Marty. We also hear Darlene tell her story on camera, and hear Glenn’s version on tapes that Dr. Burton made in his study of the story. Burton also gives us insight into the culture of snake handling churches.

The film is essentially a true crime film, but because of the religious aspects of the story, we do learn a bit about the practice and the biblical reasons for it. These religious aspects are presented without judgments as to their appropriateness or critical biblical understanding. The idea of handling snakes in churches is based in the textually dubious Longer Ending of the Gospel of Mark (Mark 16:9-20). For those outside the Holiness and Pentecostal tradition, the scenes of snake handling may seem bizarre, but for some this is an important expression of faith.

Another religious aspect deals with Glenn Summerford’s life story. Glenn had a history of violence and brawling. But about halfway through the story, he finds redemption and new life. We are told that his life changed, but we may also see evidence that there was little change, that he continued to act violently, especially when drinking. When we hear Glenn tell his version of events, he continues to speak with a faith-filled understanding of events, even as he sees himself wrongly accused.

Is this story anything other than a look into an obscure religious practice that is mostly (although not totally) confined to poor rural areas? Actually, it is hardly that at all. These religious traditions are really only the backdrop into the search for truth in the crime story. Searching for truth is often more than just about facts. It can also be about which sets of facts we are willing to accept and for what reason. Are we more likely to believe or disbelieve people who view handling snakes as a gift given them by the Holy Spirit? Do we judge them by their pasts, or by their socioeconomic situations?

Perhaps a key question we should ask ourselves in watching a film like Alabama Snake is where we see ourselves and our own understandings of faith. As Dr. Burton says in the prologue to the film, “I find that in collecting their life stories, traditions, and beliefs, it’s really one way of understanding our own history.”

Alabama Snake is available on HBO.

Photos courtesy of HBO.

Sing Me a Song – Undetached Buddhism

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If your mind pictures a Buddhist monastery as a step back in time or as a place of detachment from worldly things, you may be in for a surprise when you see Sing Me a Song from documentary filmmaker Thomas Balmès.

Balmès first visited the monastery in Bhutan ten years ago when making his film Happiness. The beginning of Sing Me a Song revisits the previous film and Peyangki, an eight year old monk, as he anticipates the coming of electricity, TV, and internet to Laya, the last village in Bhutan to get that technology. When the film jumps to the present day, we see rows of young monks reciting prayers, while simultaneously playing on their cellphones. Peyangki, now a young man, is still in the monastery, but he is fascinated by the technology, and especially with connecting with Ugyen, a young woman in the capital city, Thimphu. We’re not entirely sure what Ugyen’s life is like, although it appears that she is a B girl who is contemplating going to Kuwait for work.

In part this is a coming-of-age film as a young monk must come to terms with his calling and his desires. For Peyangki, the monastery has been his home for most of his life. He desired to be there as a child. He dreamed of becoming a lama. Now the distractions of the outside world pull him away from the more spiritual life he has been following. His relationship with Ugyen is another draw away from his life in the monastery. That burgeoning love story is followed.

But the key aspect of the film is the way that consumerism and technology tend to take over our lives. This is clearly evident in Peyangki’s life. His teacher at the monastery is constantly pointing out that he is not making progress. He is told he must quit playing and study. In a spiritual discipline that focuses on detachment, the coming of technology does not seem to be a good thing.

The connection to Balmès’s film Happiness is important. He made that film because the King of Bhutan had deemed the rapid modernization of the country as something that would create more happiness. Bhutan claimed to be the happiest place in the world. Yet, as we watch Peyangki and Ugyen, we don’t sense that the King’s plans have brought them happiness. And in Peyangki’s case, it may have taken away the joys he found earlier in the spiritual life in Laya.

Sing Me a Song is available on Virtual Cinema through local arthouses.

Photos courtesy of Gravitas Ventures and Participant Media

The Mystery of D.B. Cooper: Mythologizing Our Villains

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There really is something fascinating about true crime stories. W

From Unsolved Mysteries to Tiger King, there is something truly engaging about listening to stories that seem too wild to be true. However, in the history of mysteries, one man stands out as the biggest question mark of all. Known for his daring robbery from 10 000 feet, D.B. Cooper remains the only unsolved airplane hijacking in FBI history. 

Now, almost 50 years later, Emmy-nominated filmmaker John Dower (Thrilla in Manilla, My Scientology Movie) revives the epic enigma in his latest documentary, The Mystery of D.B. Cooper. Focusing on four primary suspects, Dower gives voice to family and friends who believe passionately that their friend or relative is the same man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Portland, OR, stole $200, 000 and four parachutes, daringly jumped out of the plan and disappeared forever.

Wisely, Dower steps back and allows the stories of his witnesses to take centre stage. With each parallel revelation and conflicting confession, the mystery grows as each testimony claims to know the truth behind the FBI’s most famous wanted man. Rather than attempt to conjure up some conclusion or lean towards any one particular voice, Dower allows each potential suspect the possibility that they are (or were) the infamous Cooper. Like the most captivating mystery stories, this one intentionally leaves more questions than answers as it leans into the many unknowns about this particular case. In D.B. Cooper, truth is relative and highly subjective to the point that it’s impossible to separate fact from fiction.

Though, perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the documentary does not even stem from the testimonials themselves but from the fact that every one of them (and many others) want to be known as the escaped criminal. Like Robin Hood or Butch and Sundance, Dower points out that the legend of DB Cooper has been mythologized within our culture as some form of folk hero. Despite the fact that he  broke the law and terrified his victims, Cooper has become celebrated for his ability to get away with his crime. (Interestingly, Dower likens this alternate view to the fact that so many struggle financially and therefore view him as one who broke free from ‘the Man’.)

In many ways, it also seems strange. After all, let’s not forget that people were actually in danger during the heist. Yet, at the same time, there seems to be something culturally cathartic about pulling off ‘the big heist’ which creates a sense of wonder around their wrongdoings. As the legend of these ‘heroes’ continues to grow, it’s fascinating to watch public opinion surrounding men like Cooper shift from angst to awe and villainy becomes heroism.

In the end, like the shadowy man himself, there’s something enthralling about The Mystery of DB Cooper. While the film offers no answers regarding his identity, those unanswered questions are entirely the point of the film. Though the crime may have taken place almost 50 years ago, John Dower prudently allows the conflicting voices that claim to know the whole story to take centre stage and, in doing so, gives even greater weight to the enigma that is D.B. Cooper.

The Mystery of DB Cooper is now playing on HBO Max. 

Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams

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We may think of baseball as the American Pastime, but we are not the only place that loves the game. Baseball is also a very popular sport in Japan, and has been for over 100 years. Each year, there is a nationwide high school tournament leading up to crowning a champion at Koshien Stadium near Kobe. It has a nationwide following that surpasses professional baseball. Each year thousands of high school baseball teams begin the single elimination tournament in their prefectures. Only one team from each prefecture goes on to Koshien. Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams, from Ema Ryan Yamazaki, shows us a team’s quest to achieve that challenging goal.

The film focuses on Yokohama Hayato High School. The team is coached by Mizutani, who has made one trip to Koshien in his thirty year career. He is often stern with his players, pushing them as they train for the tournament. The school has 129 students who are taking part in the baseball program, but only twenty can make the summer team. We get to know a few of them, but most of the focus in on Mizutani.

The training regimen for these high school baseball players is grueling. We watch as they run in unison around the field. It looks like soldiers in boot camp. The seniors have been doing this for three years. Freshmen are having a hard time learning to stay together, and an upperclassman scolds them. They have to work as a team.

But it is not only about baseball skills and ability. In a meeting with the new freshmen, a senior mentor discusses the philosophy of the program. The number one goal is “to grow as humans”. That means being attentive to all around you. It means caring for the world. (One of the things we note is that these players pick up trash anywhere they go.) They drill on the proper way to speak. The senior mentor criticizes the way some of the players say “good morning” and “thank you”.

We also meet Sasaki, the coach of Hanamaki Higashi school. Sasaki was an assistant coach under Mizutani, whom he considers a mentor. Sasaki, however, has gone on to make it to Koshien several times. He has also coached players who have made it to American baseball, such as Shohei Ohtani of the Angels and Yusei Kikuchi of the Mariners. Sasaki likens his coaching to growing bonsai plants—how they grow to fit the size of container, and the way wires are needed to form the shape, but will injure the plant if left too long. When Mizutani’s son becomes a freshman, Mizutani thinks it would be best if his son not play for him, so he is sent far from home to play for Sasaki.

But this is not just about baseball. In some ways, this serves as a chance to look at some of the cultural norms of Japanese society. The Japanese work ethic that evolved after World War II, created a strong economy, but perhaps globalization is bringing changes. Mizutani’s parents built their own company, but his mother doesn’t understand why he does not return to work in it, especially after the death of his father. That work ethic also has an effect on family life. Mizutani is rarely home. In fact it is at a practice game between Hayato and Higashu that he first sees his son play baseball (and for another team!).

That work ethic is also seen in the way the players push themselves. In a clip from a previous Koshien tournament, the TV announcers mention that the pitcher in the game threw 253 pitches yesterday. An American coach that allowed a player to through 250 pitches in a week would probably be fired for abuse. Yusei Kikuchi recalls trying to continue pitching in the tournament with a broken rib. It would not be acceptable to say he couldn’t go on.

When there is only one champion out of thousands, it means disappointment for most. And we see that disappointment play out in this film. It is what is said after that disappointment that allows us to see the way that sports can build character.

Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams is available on Virtual Cinema through local arthouses.

Photos courtesy of First Run Features.