Summary
A low-key sports drama with a twist that bucks several of the conventions while maintaining a strong sense of character.
In almost every country where professional baseball is played, and (let’s face it) any professional sport is organised, there is a gendered barrier between who can play. Writer/director Choi Yoon-tae was inspired to make this film upon discovering that there was no current rule actually banning women in pro baseball.
BASEBALL GIRL (야구소녀) follows Joo Soo-in (Lee Joo-young), a young female baseball player who is determined to play in an exclusively male professional league. Despite support from her dad (Song Young-kyu), who is going through some troubles of his own, her mother (Yum Hye-Ran) just wants her to get a job. Even though the odds are against her, coach Choi Jin-Tae (Lee Joon-Hyuk) reluctantly begins to foster her talents.
Remember that short-lived series Pitch from about 4 years ago? This is a subdued version of that with a distinctly different flavour, more about the road to pro than the struggle of being the only woman in the clubhouse. Yet instead of having to just prove to the world she’s good enough, Joo Soo-in also has to demonstrate to herself that she’s capable.
Which is why you don’t have to be a baseball fan, or even a sports fan, to engage with the main story. It’s a laser focused character piece, a coming-of-age drama about sacrifice in the name of following one’s dreams. It structurally reminds me of a light novel or comic series, and thanks to some gentle pacing, often feels like we’ve spent more time with this would-be player than the running time would suggest.
There’s a few potentially extraneous storylines, including her father’s legal woes, and the Zett product placement is egregious. Still, even with all the expected tropes – training and tryout montages (with music!), familial dramas, bonding wth the coach – Choi bucks the trend of most sports movies by not hanging everything off a major showdown match.
While it may not satisfy all audiences, the ambiguity of the denouement grounds the film in ways that the abbreviated language of the sports genre rarely does. Plus, arriving on the back of Kim Ji-young Born 1982, it’s been a solid couple of years for feminist messages in Korean film. In the end, if you’re like me and just a sucker for a sports film, especially an underdog one, this hit the spot nicely.
2020 | South Korean | DIRECTOR: Choi Yoon-tae | WRITER: Choi Yoon-tae | CAST: Lee Joo-young, Lee Jun-hyuk, Yeom Hye-ran | DISTRIBUTOR: Korean Film Festival in Australia (AUS)| RUNNING TIME: 105 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 29 October – 5 November 2020 (KOFFIA)
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