Field of Dreams

In the picturesque Iowa countryside, Ray Kinsella is a man struggling to come to terms with his life and his relationship with his wife, Annie. Ray's love for baseball has apparently grown cold, a stark contrast to his childhood passion. After a series of uneventful conversations with the bank about repaying the mortgage on his farm, Ray receives a cryptic and intriguing message while driving through the cornfield one evening. A soft, whispery voice echoes in his mind, saying, "If you build it, he will come." Ray initially dismisses the experience as mere daydreaming, but his mind lingers, unable to rationalize the peculiar feeling instilled by those two enigmatic words. Days pass by, and the phrase "If you build it, he will come" inexplicably resurfaces within his consciousness, nudging him to follow the inscrutable instructions the voice has provided. Despite his obvious skepticism, Ray can't help but be compelled by an unseen force, particularly the implicit conviction in the phrase he keeps hearing. Taking this sudden decision, Ray decides to clear a considerable portion of his cornfield to construct a baseball diamond – Ray Kinsella's Field of Dreams. His wife, Annie, becomes outraged when she finds out about Ray's unprecedented decision; little does he know what the outcome of this will be. Hesitantly acknowledging Ray's convictions, she begrudgingly agrees to continue living on this farm. Ray endeavors to communicate more with the voice through letters and newspaper ads, however, he gets no clear, clear understanding of who he is appealing to, leaving the task even more inexplicable. To the astonishment of Ray and later Annie, two mysterious figures materialize in the cornfield: the ghostly apparitions of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the rest of the Chicago White Sox, infamous for their involvement in the Black Sox Scandal of 1919. More eerie apparitions start to gather in the cornfield as more and more historical baseball players appear – men now infamous within the fraternity of baseball – all seeking refuge from a world so unsympathetic. Before long, it becomes apparent that Ray's intentions are causing profound consequences. Before long, Ray meets Terence Mann, an unapologetic, Oscar-winning author with an intricate and inspiring story all to himself. Terence becomes a very significant influence in Ray's development as a man, his passions, and how his journey spirals out of control as he becomes drawn closer to that wondrous entity behind the ghostly figures and other improbable occurrences. Ray also discovers that there is depth to the story. As for Ray's father's confession – he attended a Chicago White Sox game at Comiskey Park in 1919 but never revealed this fact to Ray; he keeps it a deep, suppressed truth within him. Ray realizes that through a series of unconnected visions – once held memories buried within the core of Ray's family's psychological dynamics. Baseball is in the air - giving him tremendous inspiration in understanding why that voice urged him to initiate this beautiful display at this particular location. Ray sets out to the famous baseball grounds of Wrigley Field in a desperate attempt to find Terence Mann's long-lost nephew - to possibly explain the incomprehensible to himself and be able to express how it led him, through those unwarranted but insightful hints, to believe that baseball truly has an effect on those searching for more in life. Through the ultimate convergence of these significant developments, especially at a precise baseball site in the true America of back then, the themes of closure, emotional healing, and an idea of what really constitutes success were skillfully intertwined. Ray starts to understand the essence of the 'if you build it, he will come' promise: the baseball diamond brings lost family members and historical baseball figures together under one spirit – that shared, intense experience transcending all the inherent animosity and loneliness surrounding the subject at hand – showing him how all these people would engage. Ray finally returns home with an appreciation for the inexplicable consequences of an action inspired by a mysterious conversation, eventually grasping the pivotal idea – they can indeed build a meaningful connection, reaching places we've yet to explore, as long as we believe that can reach the deeper significance within our thoughts.