The Zen of Bobby V, one of a number of ESPN sports documentaries in this year's festival, stars Bobby Valentine, a former player and manager in major league baseball who's currently well into his second stay in Japan, managing the Chibbe Lotte Marines. Directed by Andrew Jenks, Jonah Quickmore Pettigreu, and Andrew Muscato, the picture is a friendly, puffy profile piece that makes the most of its subject's personable charm and low-pressure style. (Valentine to a player doing badly at batting practice: "It's okay, it's not like you're totally stinking out there." Player: "I am stinking out there!" Valentine: "Yeah, but not totally!") Valentine's wife turns up to tell the camera that when his team is winning, her husband is a pleasure to be around and "all right's with the world." The filmmakers, who kept him company over the course of a full season, stays close to him when he's winning and keeps a respectful distance when he isn't. (One quick montage of Valentine in smashing-rampage-tantrum mode is included, but it isn't made clear how many water coolers he goes through during the average losing streak.)
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