Kang’s new movie ‘Glove’ tells true story of hope

Like many other sports, baseball is a game of communication. Catchers are yelling which base to go, the crowd screams when someone hits a home run, and coaches constantly shout what to do when the players are at their bases. It’s also a sport of accumulated team effort. Having one great pitcher cannot make a strong team.

Director Kang Woo-suk’s new film, “Glove,” tells a story of 10 young baseball players who cannot communicate the way most players do. Based on the true story of a junior baseball team at Chungju Sacred Heart School for the Deaf ― a Catholic school for hearing-impaired children and teenagers in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province ― the film offers a touching portrayal of young souls who grow up through the sport and the many tough challenges they face.

The movie begins as Kim Sang-nam (Jeong Jae-young), a former pro player who used to be the shining star of Korean baseball, gets kicked out of the pro league due to repeated assault and battery charges against him. To improve his public image, Kim’s devoted manager and friend Charles (Jo Jin-woong) suggests Kim coach the Catholic school’s baseball team. Kim reluctantly agrees, and eventually goes down to Chungju to coach the kids. Touched by the boys’ genuine passion for the sport in spite of their poor skills and abilities, Kim starts to train the team hard for the boys’ ultimate goal: winning at least one game in the national junior competition.

Director Kang Woo-suk, who has made a dramatic turn from his last film, “Moss,” an intense suspense thriller, said he wanted to make “Glove” as if it were his first time making a movie.

“I found myself wanting things that were more intense and stimulating while making ‘Moss,’” said Kang at a press preview held at CGV Wangsimni in Seoul, Monday. 

“And I really didn’t enjoy that process. I even said ‘I’m not making any more movies after this one.’ But making ‘Glove’ healed me, and as a result I think my next movies will be more receptive and flexible.”

Throughout the movie, the boys fight against not only prejudice but unwanted pity. Their desperate efforts to prove their worth, while trying to overcome their disability through the harsh training, inevitably reminds the viewer of characters of Kang’s former film, “Silmido” (2003). The highly successful military film told a story of 31 social outcasts and criminals who were secretly and severely military trained by the government on the island of Silmido, off the coast of Incheon, in plans to execute then-North Korean leader Kim Il-sung in 1968. Similar to the boys in “Glove,” the 31 men in “Silmido” desperately participate in the training, feeling almost grateful that their skills are actually appreciated somewhere, even if it’s a fatal military project.

Yet unlike the “Silmido” characters who meet a tragic end, the boys in “Glove” break out of their shells and form their own voices. As their school teacher Joo-won (Yoo Seon) says in the movie, the young players hadn’t been used to working and living with others before playing the sport, largely because of their disability.

“It’s hard enough for them to take care of themselves!” Joo-won says in the film, criticizing Coach Kim for training the boys too harshly.

But with many tears and plenty of sweat, the boys eventually learn to communicate with each other, with their own signs and methods, and most importantly, trust one another while playing the sport. Such progress, though certainly not easy, gives a touching portrayal of human hope. And it’s not just the boys. Kim, who had struggled in spite of his success, regains his passion for baseball and becomes something more than he is at the beginning of the film.

The young actors who played the 10 players spent three months at Chungju Sacred Heart School for the Deaf, attending classes and playing baseball with the real-life players. Jang Ki-beom, who stars as the team’s only pitcher, Cha Myeong-jae, gives a notable performance as a young teenager who suffers from both his disability and a deep sense of helplessness. Unlike his teammates who were born with hearing impairments, Cha lost his hearing while attending middle school.

“When they talk, the kids at the Catholic school always look into each other’s eyes,” said Jang at the press preview. “It was their special way of communication and it touched me in a lot of ways.”

The movie’s theme song, “The Best,” is jointly sung by Huh Gak, the winner of 2010 Superstar K Season 2, and John Park, the same show’s runner up.

“Glove” opens on Jan. 20.

By Claire Lee (clairelee@heraldcorp.com)