Written by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Directed by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Algenis Perez Soto, Jose Rijo, Walki Cuevas
Rated: R
Plot
Dominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos is recruited to pitch in U.S. minor-league baseball but meets obstacles along the way.
Verdict
This feels like a documentary about a Dominican baseball player. We see him try to overcome the language barrier, the hope of wanting to play in the big leagues, and the daily grind. I didn't want a saccharine ending, but what we got was surprisingly bleak. Is he happy or not? He gave up everything he knew, but because of his ability he saw very little of the world outside of baseball. Did that contribute to his fears?
While the struggle feels authentic, it's the haunting ending and the lingering questions that leave an impact.
It depends.
Review
This is a Spanish language movie for the most part. When we first see Miguel, he's at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. He gets a tryout with a big league club and leaves his family and everything he's ever known for the promise of a big pay day and the chance to play ball. Playing at that level is enough to overcome, but Miguel doesn't speak English well. He has to deal with a culture shock too, staying with an elderly couple on a farm. He eats French toast for every meal because it's all he knows to order.
This feels like a documentary, capturing these small moments, but it also never draws any comparisons to the top prospect college player on Miguel's team. We don't delve deep into the emotions he must feel chasing his dream but giving up everything. The actor is mostly emotionless. The movie leaves the viewer to draw conclusions.
There's a few scenes where he and the elderly couple's grand daughter share a moment. I wondered if this was going to farmer's daughter trope, but we avoid any contrivance. It's not even a major plot point.
Miguel hits a slump that he can't shake. The cheers turn to boos and he eventually runs away. He travels to New York and finds a league to still play the sport. With that last lingering shot you wonder if he's happy. Has he found his place, even if he isn't on the road to the big leagues?
His plan was to escape poverty and play ball. I wondered if he had a passion for baseball, or if it was just an escape. Could the lack of passion explain why he eventually bounced out? It's a bleak ending as you can argue he is and isn't happy. This is one case where Miguel's lack of emotion creates a lot of questions. I didn't want a happy ending, but this is so far from happy that it's haunting.
Everything he knows, he gave up. He's never done anything else. That had to contribute to wanting to get away and see more of the world. Everything he's worked for in life, and he faces the possibility that maybe he isn't good, or at least not as good as he thought. It's that moment that causes him to run away.
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