Director: Daron Ker
Starring: Joe Cook, Phil Beaudoin and Mike Griffin
Water Buffalo Pictures
Runtime: 74 minutes
Our score: 3.5 out 5 stars
“Rice Field of Dreams” written and directed by Daron Ker is a documentary about Joe Cook and a team of 22 Cambodian Baseball players brought together as one team to play and compete as the first ever Cambodian National Baseball team. With the help of Major League baseball and several coaches from North America the team prepares for its first attempt at bringing baseball glory home to Cambodia. The bottom line is take 74 minutes out of your schedule and check out this film.
“Rice Field of Dreams” was a great film that not only showcased the triumphs and struggles of the first ever Cambodian National Baseball team but it also showed some of the past struggles for people who lived in Cambodia. Director Daron Ker a native of Cambodia really made a great film which as he puts it in the start of the film is not a typical “feel good” story instead the film is a straight forward documentary which shows the positives and the negatives of those in the film. Throughout the film you get to hear both players and coaches reactions to certain events and what they hope to get out of the experience. Though the film is centered on the baseball team you don’t have to be a fan or have an understanding of the game to appreciate this film.
