City Without Baseball (2008)

Powerful

Overrated

It is a performances centric movie

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Kong Hong is a place where everything could be found but baseball. So, producers decided to fill a gap with this work of young sexy blocks playing balls on a field and in beds.Was it a good idea? Yes.How entertaining an outcome? Tools look better than actions while bodies are mostly dressed.Is it homo-erotic? In a case, tight hair-less buttocks in bath attract ones. Is it of a general interest of youth experimenting in HK? Sure, it is.And night Hong Kong landscapes are well depicted and broaden general acknowledgment with a place without blood-bathing, mafia, gangs and police. Good on ya, producers!

I brought this movie out of curiosity because I had done a play that was also centered around baseball ("Take me Out") and because I wanted to see Scud's first movie (I have heard his second movie, "Permanent Residence" is really good)...I was expecting a homo-erotic, gay-themed film. It was not. This movie is more about life, than baseball... It explores sexuality but does not judge it... It is about overcoming adversity and not surrendering to life's obstacles... The structure of the movie and the plot makes this a very original movie too... I think it's worth watching.The movie's plot feels like a series of vignettes except that they are connected to each other. The main plot has a gay undertone but I would say that after watching the movie I am not convinced that I would categorize this as a gay movie.The "famous" full frontal scenes are beautifully shot and the first shower sequence is gorgeous. I would not call this gratuitous nudity, it is just a shower scene that feels real. The nudity is also not erotic for the most part. Actually, I felt that the scenes with partial or no nudity were much more erotic than the locker room and shower scenes.When the main plot reaches it's climax, so those the main character's subplots. Here, there is a very tender scene featuring two of the main characters that I actually watched twice. The movie ends in what first seems as an unsatisfying ending but upon meditating about it, I feel that the movie simply asks us to fill in the blanks.Is this a gay movie? No, but you will appreciate it's gay undertones and reflect upon one (or more??) character's sexuality. Is this a homo-erotic movie? No, but you will see brief, artistically done, nude scenes.In the end the movie achieves what it set to do in the first place... If I was in Hong Kong, I would probably start watching more baseball games... The movie humanizes their struggles, makes them appealing, and makes the baseball players very likable characters....The fragmentation of the plot is the weakest point of this movie. The cinematography is its greatest strength. What makes it worth watching (at least as a gay men), is the one really tender scene towards the end.Like another reviewer said, this is a good movie not a great one. It is very different from anything you probably have seen before...

This film is about the lives, romance and their daily interaction of the members of the Hong Kong baseball team.I feel confused by "City Without Baseball". It was marketed as a gay film, and surely people who watched it with this particular expectation would be disappointed. It would also be disappointing for sports fan as the film features little of baseball.The main problem is that the plot is unfocused and fragmented. As "City Without Baseball" is a dramatised documentary of actual events, the events presented seem unconnected, without preludes or follow ups. For example, the romance between the coach and the waitress does not get a mention after they have sex. A subplot that gets no follow up should not be in the film at all, but I guess it got retained in the final film to counterbalance the homosexual theme.Another problem is that the plot does not have a real climax. There is no feel good element such as solidarity of the team members. However, such plot problems are offset by the great production. I am impressed by the choice of sets, cinematography and lighting. Not many Hong Kong films can reach an artistic level like this.Another thing that surprises me is why the actual baseball team appears in the film as themselves, given the central plot is not about their struggle to the top or promoting their beloved sport. As almost all of them appear completely naked, they are very brave to be in the film.

An interesting film, not to difficult to watch, yet intriguing through to the last 15 minutes. It is not a 'sports' film. It is about sports as much as "Top Gun" is about flying airplanes. Littered with strong 'gay' undertones, given the characters performances and the story line. i was wondering what the film was really about. Who is or not gay, Bi or straight. i did realize that at the end, this film, everybody could have been shot'waist up' in this film and it wouldn't have made any difference. If you are squeamish about nudity then this film is not for you. As open as this film is about relationships, love and death(?), you'll need to be patient, as the film helps you through with "clues". Don't judge, watch and enjoy. Given the subject and where it was made, it seems Hong Kong/China cinema will open itself to a whole new audience very soon.