Those who dislike baseball may complain that the game rolls along at a glacial pace and mostly consists of the players standing around, doing nothing. The pleasure of director and co-writer Carson Lund’s feature debut is that it understands how such criticisms miss the point entirely; what seems like nothing happening is, for those enamoured with the sport, its secret beauty. follows the final game played by two unexceptional recreational-adult-league teams before their beloved ballfield is torn down, and the result is a modest but poignant hangout film that resonates long after the last pitch.
premieres in Directors’ Fortnight, also the launching pad for another picture overseen by the Los Angeles artistic collective Omnes Films, . The film, which features an all-male cast and crew, boasts no marquee names (although cinephiles may be amused to learn that legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman provides a brief vocal cameo as a radio newsman), but baseball fans might be drawn to this low-key charmer. That said, viewers should be advised that Lund eschews the sports drama cliches — indeed, winners and losers matter less than the precious time spent on the diamond between old friends.
Set over one October Sunday afternoon and evening in the mid-1990s, the film tracks a baseball game played by local team Adler’s Paint, led by super-competitive pitcher Ed (Keith William Richards), and rivals Riverdogs, coached by the soft-spoken Graham (Stephen Radochia), whose business.