Sitting amongst the memorabilia of a film shoot that happened when I was 2—itself recalling an earlier, supposedly more innocent time than the Reagan years—I wondered what the fuss was all about over this film. “The Natural,” if you did not already know, was filmed in Buffalo in 1983, and celebrated its 25th anniversary at the inaugural night of the 2nd Annual Buffalo Niagara Film Festival (BNFF). Certainly it had not been the only film to be shot in Buffalo before then, or since, so how could this one film have captured so much of the spotlight? How does “The Natural” capture the imagination and devotion of the city, even twenty-five years after shooting wrapped?
Part of that answer can be found in the stories that got told of that shoot. We were told, in the Erie Ballroom at the Adam’s Mark hotel downtown, that the festival was going to be more interactive this year, and that stories were stories, and we gathered here tonight, and all week to share those stories. A number of extras and bit players recruited for the film from the Buffalonian talent pool were on hand, and they shared their stories with the audience. From lugging bricks for a set to what they wore as extras, to Glenn Close’s ability to knock one out of the park, the stories that were told evoked a certain glamour and wonder that is missing from the stories we hear now about film sets and actors.
Before the film began, Robert Redford himself (via pre-recorded message to the people and cast from Buffalo) shared his story of the film, including why they deviated from the source material. What struck me the most was how Redford explained baseball and the mythology inherent in Bernard Malamud’s novel, through the context of the film. Through the screening of the film—which I admit now, and publicly never having seen before—the idea of a mythology hung over my viewing of the film. At the conclusion of the screening, amongst the plethora of BNFF merchandise and memorabilia, I kept rolling over the attraction to the film for Buffalo.
Baseball has its mythology, and I am sure that was what Redford was referring to in his address. However for those Buffalonians involved in, or who remember that time of baseball in Buffalo, the film’s mythology may bleed into the city itself. The story of a man who takes a couple of wrong turns on his drive to success, and ends up stalled, hurt and limping for a number of years, until he can finally realize his dream, can find a comfortable parallel in Buffalo’s own story of reinvigoration. “The Natural,” itself, is about baseball, whereas the mythology in and of the film, the stories and memorabilia, the people and memories, help keep the dream of rebounding from your failures into success, alive, for the people who lived, made, and watched it.
Buffalo, then, the community that is brought together with this shared mythological experience, is the community that can continue to believe in the stories they watch and share with each other. I could not think of a better film to help to kick off the 2nd Annual BNFF, which is in essence about sharing stories, in the Buffalo community and abroad.
For more information on the 2nd Annual Buffalo Niagara Film Festival, including schedules, venues and prices, check out buffaloniagarafilmfestival.com. Keep visiting Buffalo Rising throughout the week for updates and spotlights on events during the festival! Photos in this article are courtesy of Brian Grinham.