Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories

The forty year wait since Clemente's death was more than worth it for this gem of a film. "Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories" is a labor of love from Writer/Director, Richard Rossi who like so many of us who love this film grew up watching Clemente play. The film plays out in 21 chapters, 21 being not only the uniform number Roberto wore but the number of letters in his three names: Roberto Walker Clemente. Understanding that chronology is important to following the film.

I loved every aspect of this masterful movie and I learned things I never knew about Clemente. The love Vera and Roberto shared was endless, like Romeo and Juliet, a great love that ends in tragedy. Olympian Jamie Nieto deftly portrays in an acting tour de force the adversities Roberto had playing the game not only from injuries sustained from a car accident but from racist reporters. The Pittsburgh Press were out to mock him and call him a "Puerto Rican hot dog." Fortunately, it made him more determined to prove he was the greatest right fielder of all time.

I cried watching this film, reliving the feelings I had when I found out as a fifth grader the plane went down. "Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories" is a film every Clemente fan needs to see, bringing the glory days of the Pirates back to life by the amazing performance from Nieto as Roberto. Nieto brought the same passion to the role that brought him to two Olympic games. The rest of the supporting cast did a stellar job.

The feeling Rossi conveyed to me was a nostalgia like I was in the living room again in 1971 re- experiencing it in front of our old TV screen. This film was made on a small budget and doesn't look like a studio film, and it is not a precise retelling of every historical aspect.

This is a film for lovers like Roberto, and this film made history as the first feature dramatic film on Clemente's life. It's important for the viewer to have the cerebration to grasp the genre and the style of the film, and the way that it was made and the reasons why it was shot the way it was and why it is not, thank God, an exact detail of everything that happened exactly in Clemente's life from start to finish. The film is far more moving and entertaining because of the choices Rossi and the cast and crew made.

If you love Roberto Clemente, and you want to see his story told in a creative way with passion and power, this is the film for you. The director, Academy Award-considered filmmaker Richard Rossi, grew up in Pittsburgh hanging out with the Pirates in their locker room. He has a deep love for Clemente that comes through every scene of this fantastic film. Olympian Jamie Nieto captures Clemente. He nails his accent and his physical bearing, including Clemente's rolling of the neck and back movements as a result of his injuries. He expresses the compassion and grace of Clemente. Excellent casting! Marilinda Rivera, (a Puerto Rican model so photogenic she won the Bravo competition TV show "Project Runway"), is beautiful on screen as his wife Vera Clemente and has strong sexual & spiritual chemistry with Nieto. The film masterfully blends real news footage (of the Great Clemente, Pittsburgh, & Puerto Rico), with the dramatized scenes by the talented cast. If you're not an intelligent person and want a big budget mindless movie with explosions and boobs and car chases, this is not the film for you. If you want a movie that is a huge epic extravaganza that spent millions showing every detail of Clemente from birth to death with no artistry, this isn't the film for you. If you want a movie that makes you feel the feelings of love that Rossi and others have for Clemente, that captures Roberto's love for his family, his fans, and his heart for the world, you'll love this film. If you only watch mainstream movies with lots of special effects at the local cinema multiplex, you may not have the heart and soul for this film. If you like independent cinema from maverick directors, you'll love this movie. Anyone can make a movie with millions of dollars, but it takes more creative ingenuity to make a movie on a shoestring and come up with a film this gripping. I liked 42, but I love 21 Clemente Stories more. Yes, 42 had more money and name actors. But it focused primarily on the racial issue. "Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories" is a film that tells Clemente's story on so many levels; overcoming racist reporters, falling in love with Vera, making a spiritual journey beyond baseball to become a great humanitarian. Clemente was an artist, he played with grace. So it's fitting the first film on his life is a work of art, made by volunteers as a ministry of grace.

I want to thank you for your support of our labor of love to honor my childhood hero Roberto Clemente. On behalf of the volunteer cast and crew, we're grateful & couldn't have finished this film without your encouragement. Thanks to you buying this DVD, we had funds to screen the film for free admission last week at Roberto Clemente High School in Chicago where there have been murders by shooting, and we're able to pay for the mandated security to show this school the type of man Roberto Clemente was. Our outreach efforts have cost us, we haven't made money on these events. We are doing it in the spirit of humanitarian service Roberto Clemente showed us. Recently, a young gang-member headed for a life of crime just watched our film. His eye got misty, & he vowed to do something with purpose to help others & make the world better. This movie makes a difference. Also last week I visited an elementary school in Pasadena. The teacher showed the film and we were able to inspire the students to see what a true hero is. One 5th grade girl was crying during the presentation & wrote me a note. I learned from the teacher that both her parents were killed. The teacher thanked me & said it's so important how the film gives kids hope.

As writer-director, I created a hybrid of a documentary-drama. Some of the 21 stories have a documentary feel with some real news elements, but most of the movie is dramatized with actors. That being said, the movie isn't a documented history as if we replayed an exact video of everything that happened in Clemente's life. As a dramatist, I sometimes chose to use composite characters (blending two or more people into one.) For example, I knew as a boy growing up in Pittsburgh that Roberto had another manager briefly before Danny Murtaugh, but I knowingly used just one manager in the film, the Murtaugh character, because he led the Bucs to both World Series. Dramatically condensing into fewer characters can strengthen story-telling rather than having one manager briefly then switching. Murtaugh is played by the incomparably gifted character actor Charles Hoyes. The movie isn't an exact documentary history, it's a dramatization inspired by history that takes poetic license. Even in our real life, we don't remember things exactly the same. Our memories of youth and childhood are different from others recalling the same events. My goal as the writer-director was to communicate my love and the emotion my hero Roberto Clemente evoked in me as a boy. I can confidently tell you it is very close to historically accurate and most viewers tell us they learned things they didn't know about the Great One.

I want to thank all of our cast & crew. I'm proud of our actors and everything they gave. Jamie Nieto, our leading man, drove every weekend 2 1/2 hours from San Diego to shoot for a year, while simultaneously training for the Olympics. That's one example of the many donations of sweat & tears. Sacrifice and volunteer effort brought this first feature dramatic film on Clemente's life to pass.

Recently, a nurse named Stephanie Clark, who donated sacrificially to help the film get made said something interesting. "I think it was meant to be that this film was made from those laying down their lives and time in service, inspired by Clemente," Stephanie said. "It wasn't the major studios with millions of dollars, big name actors, and a marketing machine to make money for their Hollywood coffers. The film was made as Roberto lived, by people wanting to give. Few can lay down their life & die for others like Roberto did, or Christ did, but the cast and crew laid down a portion of their lives, their time and talent."

We try to answer each email from so many of you who have seen the heart and been moved by our movie. If we haven't been able to thank you individually, we are grateful and I hope my review here once again expresses our gratitude for the compassion, grace, and understanding you have shown us in our long journey to accomplish this goal.

I'm giving the film 9 stars out of 10 as a way of saying I'm not so presumptive to give it a 10 and say it was perfect, but we did our best with what we had & I give it a 9 to honor the work of our team. To our volunteer cast and crew: you did a stellar job. I'm very proud of you and the fact we did it together. Jamie, Marilinda, Charles, Isaac & the rest of the actors you gave me such great performances and to the post team led by Mary Chin, the DPs Jimmy and Jeff, thanks again for your sacrifice. This labor of love has caught fire coast to coast, because people are drawn to love. Love overcomes the nay-sayers and the fears, and as Roberto has shown, there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for your friends. Thanks again for your support.

Eternally grateful,

Richard Rossi Writer-Director, Hollywood, California

This is another proof that you don't need a lot of money to produce a good, meaningful and very accurate movie for all ages. The story of Roberto Clemente, one of the greatest baseball players of all times, is presented in a very unique way. Through 21 (yes 21!) simple and well acted segments, we fully understand and have a complete picture of who this man was and how much difference he made in the world. It is a bit of sadness, a bit of happiness and a lot to think about it. The movie is an instrument to learn about the good qualities and basic values sometimes missing in this world. The stories comprise many years and many places, from Puerto Rico to Pittsburgh, where we can see a Clemente growing as a player and as a human being. We see through his eyes the good and the bad in this world and how regardless of his experiences, he is always focused and very dedicated to his career and to others surrounding him. The way he left us is just an example of his whole life. Great job!

I first saw the movie at the premier showing in Pittsburgh. I especially enjoyed the live performance of the Clemente Theme Song by director and awesome guitarist, Richard Rossi (song now on YouTube at http://youtu.be/vgfSM8-C7xA ). Die-hard baseball fans will enjoy this film. I was an avid baseball card collector and faithful Pirate fan back in the 60's yet I didn't know most of the historical facts that were presented in this film. It's no wonder the audience at the Strand Theater erupted spontaneously in applause when the movie was over. They did a great job considering the fact that this was a low budget film. This DVD is a must-have collectors item for those of us who loved Clemente.