Baseball Girl (2020)

Baseball-Girl-(2020)
Baseball Girl (2020)

 In middle school, Joo Soo-in was a star pitcher and became the first female baseball player in 20 years. But since then, she has been held back by the realities of high school and pro league baseball as she watches her teammates move forward even with less talent than her. Additionally, her relationship with her family is at boiling point; a father who does not bring any money into the house often fights with a mother who just wants Soo-in to accept that she will never be good at baseball and get a paying job for herself. Despite being dissuaded by Choi Jin-tae, a new coach at school who knows very well what professional baseball entails. However, Soo-in’s determination pays off thereby convincing him to give them both an opportunity.

Choi Yoon-tae, making his directorial debut deals with issues which are not only relevant to Korean society but internationally as well. However, in their prologue intertitle wordings were changed by the Korean authorities in 1996 allowing women to be included (as a prologue intertitle informs). As such though it’s not an explicitly female discriminating character; circumstances dictate against women as a whole. Then Jin-tae refusing to mentor her sounds interesting because she should give up playing baseball but not because she is a girl yet he knows that this cruel and unfair world can be harsh even on men (Jin-tae means this).

On the whole, “Baseball Girl” is a genre piece that bears some resemblances with previous movies of this kind such as a truly great tryout scene, yet it manages to be a little different because here Soo-in has no rivals besides life. She does not come up against any team or individual but meets only difficulties in order to become a pitcher who will be judged upon her skills rather than on the basis of set rules and checklists these are the same challenges that Soo-in’s friend Bang-geul faces in her pursuit of becoming a dancer as well as a musician. The narrative also touches upon parents’ expectations concerning children without knowing their true abilities and its relevance to them.

Had it not been for Lee Joo-young’s outstanding central performance, “Baseball Bat” would have been an ordinary affair even though Choi Yoon-tae’s direction is quite confident. Her character is Soo-jin, she is one determined girl who sees no boundaries even when dealing with her own family for achieving what she wants. But sometimes she lets go off that façade and you can see underneath her a sad but undefeated girl. The wrinkled nose along with the wide smile melts your heart away while those scenes where she cries break easily enough.

The manner in which she celebrates when she hits the balls during tryout scene will leave you up and down on your feet as much as other characters do. The hard work and efforts that must have gone into making her move and act like a baseball player too paid off. Well supported by Lee Joon-hyuk (as Coach Jin-tae), Yum Hye-ran (as mother still fighting her own battle to provide for a family)and Song Young-kyu (a father who did not measure up but passed it down to his daughter). This is a great scene where Soo-in fights with her mom at night, it serves as an example of good performances by both actresses.

The cinematography of Hwang Seung-yun in “Baseball Girl” is strong as well. On the other hand, high school’s dull facilities are juxtaposed with more sophisticated ones at professional levels. The music by Peterpan Complex, a Korean music band contributes to the film’s upbeat mood and serves to emphasize various key sequences. Sometimes, indie films tend to linger on a scene for just a bit too long especially when they deal with human stories, but Choi Yoon-tae has done an amazing job in keeping his editing precise and sharp after spending most of his time in front of the camera doing production edits on various shows.

Choi Yoon-tae’s first feature is a remarkably positive and socially significant one that employs tropes commonly associated with sports dramas to make an engaging story which makes one support Soo-in right from her beginning until her end. His name will surely become more well-known even as Lee Joo-young’s does. In any case, the message of this feature that it is never too late or impossible to follow your dreams and goals couldn’t be any clearer than what is conveyed here.

Don’t wait around or have reservations; take up that sport, that musical instrument, that paintbrush or whatever it is that your heart has always desired and give in to it.

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