'30 for 30' - 'Fernando Nation': Screwball drama
Cruz Angeles looks at Los Angeles' love affair with Fernando Valenzuela
Fernando Valenzuela in his Dodger glory days.
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Cruz Angeles' "Fernando Nation" was one of the more straightforward, familiar of the "30 for 30" films, in that the meteoric career of Fernando Valenzuela was well-documented and Angeles didn't try to focus on an obscure area (ala the Ron Shelton film on Michael Jordan, minor leaguer). But if it wasn't a surprising film - and hampered from a story arc standpoint by how quickly Fernando went from phenomenon to journeyman - it was still an effective one, particularly in the material about Chavez Ravine (which I was not familiar with) and how Fernando's overnight success made the Dodgers a favorite of the Latino community in spite of the uncomfortable history with how the stadium was built.
What did everybody else think?
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October 26, 2010 at 9:45PM EST Reply to CommentMy understanding is tha this was a "ast minute" replacement for the bartman 30 for 30.
October 26, 2010 at 10:30PM EST Reply to CommentIf I might offer this ...
http://es.pn/cCrnc8
Cruz got the Chavez Ravine history about 75% right. The problem with anything that connects Chavez Ravine to the Dodgers is that the fate of the area was sealed before the Dodgers had begun looking West. The Dodgers as villains is more an issue of perception – Dodger Stadium is what ended up there, but there was no way the City of Los Angeles was going to hand that land back to the original residents.
The short length of the doc definitely hampered it. Cruz was literally throwing text on the screen to try to finish off the story. And it was shocking that they left out Vin Scully's famous call of the final out of Fernando's no-hitter. But I enjoyed it for what it was.
October 27, 2010 at 1:27AM EST Reply to CommentThe Los Angeles Housing Authority, an agency of the State of California, deeded the Chavez Ravine land back to the City of Los Angeles with the proviso that the land be; 1) used for a "public purpose" and 2) not use the land for housing of any kind.
October 27, 2010 at 11:47AM EST Reply to CommentSo they are not doing the Bartman doc anymore? I was really looking forward to that one in particular.