August’s theme for Genre Grandeur is “about the American Pastime Sport Baseball”. While researching titles for this edition of the blogging event, I came across a film that gave me an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. In the eight years 18 Cinema Lane has existed, I have never seen a Korean movie, not alone reviewed one. So, when I discovered the South Korean movie, Baseball Girl, I found a way to continue expanding my cinematic horizons! Though international films are not as frequently reviewed as other genres on 18 Cinema Lane, I do try to make an effort to cover these types of films on my blog from time to time. This is the reason why, on my Year-Long Bingo Card, there is a square labeled “International movie”. So far, I’ve written about two movies that would be classified as an international movie; Aladdin and the Forty Thieves and Autumn Sonata. While Aladdin and the Forty Thieves left me wondering “what the heck did I just watch?”, Autumn Sonata became one of the best movies I’ve seen this year, so far. Where will Baseball Girl rank compared to the two aforementioned titles? Before the first pitch is thrown, let’s begin this review!

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: When I reviewed 1985’s Mask, I praised the strength of the acting performances, as the genuineness of each actor’s portrayal made me feel like I was watching people living their lives instead of actors portraying another person. This is exactly how I felt while watching Baseball Girl! The story of the protagonist, Joo Soo-in, attempting to become drafted in the world of professional baseball is “slice-of-life”. However, the genuineness and honesty of Lee Joo-young’s performance, as well as the rest of the cast’s performances, made the movie compelling. In a scene where Lee Joo-young’s character, Joo Soo-in, is practicing her pitching, she becomes frustrated over experiencing a setback. She looks at her coach, Choi Jin-tae, with an almost defeated look in her eyes. Joo Soo-in even has a slight frown on her face, continuing to appear discouraged. But after Choi Jin-tae shows Joo Soo-in how to effectively throw a knuckleball, frustration transforms into determination. A sharp sense of focus shines in Joo Soo-in’s eyes as she throws a successful knuckleball. When she realizes Choi Jin-tae’s advice worked, Joo Soo-in appears surprised and excited, with a radiant smile on her face this time. The believability of Lee Joo-young’s portrayal of Joo Soo-in effectively encouraged me to root for Baseball Girl’s protagonist and her efforts to make her dream come true!

Speaking of Choi Jin-tae, I want to talk about Lee Jun-hyuk’s performance! One of those most believable scenes in Baseball Girl is when Choi Jin-tae is introduced to Joo Soo-in’s team for the first time. There’s an awkwardness that covers Choi Jin-tae’s persona. He folds his hands in front of himself and his shoulders almost appear tense. Choi Jin-tae’s eyes go from looking at the ground to looking at each player’s face on the team. Though he seems nervous about this new chapter in his career, his face indicates how he’s trying to take in these unfamiliar sights. As I said earlier in this review, the genuineness of each actor’s portrayal made me feel like I was watching people living their lives instead of actors portraying another person. The strength of Lee Jun-hyuk’s acting abilities helped make this illusion work!

Yeom Hye-ran portrays Joo Soo-in’s mother, Sin Hae-sook. She has her doubts over whether Joo Soo-in can become the professional baseball player she dreams of being. However, Sin Hae-sook’s reasons are more practical, especially considering she has her own struggles to deal with. At one point in Baseball Girl, Sin Hae-sook receives horrible news about her husband. Her eyes are downcast as the severity of the news settles in. A mixture of confusion, fear, and sadness paints Sin Hae-sook’s face. She even purses her lips as she’s thinking about what her next choices will be. I was so engaged in the story, as well as Yeom Hye-ran’s performance, it was easy to forget I was watching an actress portray a character. The strong quality of Yeom Hye-ran’s acting talents helped create an enjoyable movie-viewing experience for me!

Honesty about sports: In Baseball Girl, Joo Soo-in aspires to play baseball professionally. But some of the people around her have their concerns about how reality could prevent this dream from coming true. One of these concerns is Joo Soo-in’s skills and talents on the field potentially appearing weaker compared to other athletes. Sports films will, typically, emphasize messages of how dreams will come true if you believe in yourself hard enough and how quitting is equivalent to failing. Even Joo Soo-in herself carries the mindset of refusing to give up until she’s tried her best. But the aforementioned concerns about reality preventing the dream from coming to fruition gave Baseball Girl’s creative team an opportunity to incorporate honesty about sports, especially professional aspirations, into the script. Joo Soo-in tries so hard to appear impressive for team scouts and agents that not only does she cause her hands to bleed, she, at one point in the movie, almost passes out after jogging laps during practice. This determination worries her coaches, with their concerns of potential future injuries making them consider encouraging Joo Soo-in to take up handball instead. The honesty within Baseball Girl’s script also addresses how successful athletes use their strengths to their advantage. In her attempts to impress scouts and agents from professional teams, Joo Soo-in tries to increase her pitch speed. When these attempts don’t work, her coach, Choi Jin-tae, instructs Joo Soo-in to focus on her spin rate. That underutilized skill of hers allowed her to throw knuckleballs to disrupt a batter’s ability to hit the ball. Joo Soo-in’s strength helped her stand out as an athlete as well as showed Baseball Girl’s audience how finding an individual solution that works can help pursue a dream.

Use of music: Music can be an effective and powerful tool. If utilized well, music makes a scene’s intended tone or mood heightened, helping the atmosphere, character’s emotions, and that specific part of the story radiate off the screen. The creative team behind Baseball Girl displayed a strong understanding for how and when to incorporate music into their production. Whether Choi Jin-tae is reading Joo Soo-in’s athletic file or when Joo Soo-in is practicing a new throwing technique for the first time, calm piano music plays over the scene. Because this type of music is heard at moments when a breakthrough takes place in the story, the feeling of hope and optimism is elevated. Synth-pop music can be heard during a training montage. The synth-pop fades in at the beginning of the montage and ends after the montage concludes. This emphasizes the thrill and excitement that comes from watching an athlete, Joo Soo-in in this case, get one step closer to reaching their goals. The synth-pop sound also adds a burst of energy to the montage. With how well music was woven into Baseball Girl, it allowed me to stay invested in what was happening in the film!

What I didn’t like about the film:

Lack of lighting: While the lack of lighting in Baseball Girl wasn’t a consistent issue, I noticed it enough times where I couldn’t overlook the flaw. One reason for the lack of lighting in a few scenes is the reliance on a scene’s natural lighting, which appeared to come from the early morning hours. In a scene where Joo Soo-in jogs around a small perimeter, the only light comes from the blue and light peach of the sky. But this creative choice made it difficult for me to see Joo Soo-in. In fact, for the majority of that scene, I could only hear Joo Soo-in jogging. It took me a little while to figure out what was happening on screen because of the lack of lighting.

Unresolved story threads: Remember when I mentioned earlier in this review how Sin Hae-sook receives horrible news about her husband? That news was her husband’s arrest over allegedly cheating on an exam. But after Sin Hae-sook learns why her husband is in trouble, this part of the story isn’t resolved. In fact, it’s never brought up again in the movie. I recognize this conflict was supposed to create tension within Joo Soo-in’s family. However, I wish closure was provided about whether Sin Hae-sook’s husband was truly in trouble. This is just one example of a story thread in Baseball Girl that wasn’t resolved.

An underutilized character: One of Joo Soo-in’s friends in Baseball Girl is Han Bang-geul. Similar to Joo Soo-in, Han Bang-geul works toward her dream. But in her case, she dreams of becoming a professional dancer. While visiting her friend at a dance studio, Joo Soo-in notices Janggu and Hanbok located in the background. Han Bang-geul explains to Joo Soo-in how the dance studio teaches traditional dance, but claims the lack of interest from prospective students. This piece of dialogue led me to believe that, maybe, Han Bang-geul would adapt her dream to become a professional dancer of a traditional dance form. But as the movie progressed, Han Bang-geul and her story were underutilized. Her quest in pursuing her dream didn’t receive a satisfying conclusion due to how much time was focused on Joo Soo-in’s professional baseball pursuits. Plus, there’s only so much story you can tell in an hour and forty-five minutes. I wish Han Bang-geul was utilized more in Baseball Girl because I found her story just as interesting as Joo Soo-in’s story.

My overall impression:

Like I said in the introduction of this review, August’s theme for Genre Grandeur is “about the American Pastime Sport Baseball”. But as my selection for the blogathon, Baseball Girl, proves, baseball has become more global over time. Baseball Girl also proves that, no matter where you’re from, the values of honesty, hard work, and perseverance can be appreciated. The story of Joo Soo-in and her dream of becoming a professional baseball player is not only character driven and “slice of life”, it burns slowly as well. However, the strength of the cast’s acting abilities and the honesty about sports woven into the script make Baseball Girl a compelling and engaging film! These highlights, along with the creative team’s use of music, helped me stay invested in what was happening on screen. But there were a few times when it was difficult to see what was on screen due to lack of lighting. The movie contained unresolved story threads as well as an underutilized character. Despite these flaws, Baseball Girl brings a unique perspective not just to the table of baseball films, but also to the table of sports films. I would recommend this movie, especially if you’re interested in checking out Korean cinema!

Overall score: 7.4-7.5 out of 10

Have you seen Baseball Girl? Which baseball films do you think are worth checking out? Let me know in the comment section below!

Have fun on the baseball field!

Sally Silverscreen