5) Field Of Dreams
Phil Alden Robinson’s adaptation of W.P Kinsella’s novel, Shoeless Joe has become an iconic piece of cinema in the quarter of a century since its release. It’s inspirational themes and ideas, combined with eminently quotable dialogue quickly ensured its place among the very best in the history of film, and remains a movie that makes us want to do more with our lives.
Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is a husband, a father and an Iowa farmer who one day hears a voice in his cornfield. “If you build it, he will come.” He then has a vision of a baseball diamond. Convincing his sceptical wife of his plan, he ploughs into the cornfield and builds the baseball facility – thereby placing his family’s livelihood and home in jeopardy. Despite detractors on all sides, Ray continues to listen to the voice and follow its guidance, and gradually, more and more people begin to experience the magic.
What follows is a surprising journey toward personal redemption, re-connection and the pursuit of happiness and peace of mind. In stubbornly sticking to his guns, Ray refuses to give up on the notion that there is something more – something greater – lurking in his corn. It’s about the sight of potential, the pursuit of a vision, and the inescapable fact, when anything is possible, “people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.”
