2023, USA, 99 min.
To many younger Americans, Yogi Berra (1925-2015) wasn’t a Hall of Fame baseball player and a cog in the New York Yankees’ endless dynasty, but a lovable old font of folksy wisdom (“When you get to a fork in the road—take it!”) with a funny name and a teddy-bear physique. In this heartwarming documentary, director Sean Mullin—relying on interviews with the baseball legend’s friends, teammates and family members—examines Berra’s accomplishments as a baseball player and explores his personal life. Berra was a devoted family man who stormed Normandy in World War II. He happily bonded with younger ballplayers in his later years, instead of living in the curdled past. This is the rare sports documentary that hits a personal note, reminding us that a life lies behind every older person we dismiss or thoughtlessly categorize. Berra becomes a proxy for the older relative and neighbor we choose to know in a limited way.
