Golf Movies #13 (The Legend of Bagger Vance – 2000)

A disillusioned war veteran, Captain Rannulph Junah, reluctantly agrees to play a game of golf. He finds the game futile until his caddy, Bagger Vance, teaches him the secret of the authentic golf stroke which turns out also to be the secret to mastering any challenge and finding meaning in life.

Rannulph Junnah is the best golfer in Savannah. He’s living well and has a girl, Adele Invergordon, who’s the daughter of a wealthy landowner. The First World War starts, though, and Junnah goes to Europe to fight. The only survivor of a dangerous mission, Junnah doesn’t return to Savannah for 15 years.

In 1930, he returns, and Adele’s father has already committed suicide during the Depression. Pressured by tax collectors to sell the golf course her father built to pay off debts, Adele, now older, vows to bring to Savannah the greatest match ever played on the greatest golf course, her late father’s. She’s able to round up the 2 greatest golfers of their time, Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen to play for $10,000.

The townspeople insist on having “one of their own” compete also, and Rannulph Junnah is rounded up. Junnah now hangs out with bums and is an alcoholic, as he has lost his authentic swing from 15 years ago. At first he turns down the offer. He gets his old clubs and balls and starts practicing. He has lost his ability. Suddenly, Bagger Vance shows up. He offers to be Junnahs’s caddy and help him regain his “authentic swing”. He does, and Junnah agrees to play in the big match.

Memorable performances by Matt Damon and Will Smith combined with a heart-warming storyline of personal fulfilment and overcoming obstacles, make this film a winner. The characters and their struggles transform the golf green into a schoolroom for the soul. (source)

Year: 2000

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