This is the story of Phiona Mutesi, an accomplished young Ugandan chess player. The story follows the standard script of inspiring sports story where the underdog meets competition and succeeds, but not without overcoming many obstacles. One of the biggest obstacles Phiona had to overcome, and what makes this a remarkable story, is her having been born and raised in Katwe, a slum in the City of Kampala.
The dialog offers little by way of surprise. After Phiona loses a crucial match she expresses self-doubt and questions whether she should go on. Interacting with her coach after the loss, in a scene with a strong emotional buildup, her coach delivers the tired line, "You must never surrender."
I appreciated this having been filmed on location in Uganda. The bright colors are a delight to the eye. The costumes make a vivid impression, from the women's dresses to the more subtle intricate designs and colors of the men's shirts. The little insight into what life looks like in a Kampala slum is something I would never otherwise have gotten. I would like to have seen more of the daily life in Katwe.
Using non-professional actors for many of the roles worked two ways for me, it added authenticity at the expense of stilted acting.
In all movies "based on a true story" I always have a question as to just how many liberties were taken for audience appeal. This movie may have pushed the envelop--it tries to extract every last drop of emotion. The overt attempt to manipulate drains the true emotional content. A little research reveals that Mutesi's chess playing is not of the prodigy caliber as portrayed; her ranking by the World Chess Federation among active players is around 90,000. Her apparent financial success, as represented by her buying a nice house for her mother, could not have come from her chess wins, since any major money from tournament wins is awarded only to the very top players. The celebration of her last win make it look like it was for a national holiday. Is chess really that popular in Uganda? All of the exaggeration is not to take away from Mutesi's achievements that are extraordinary given her background and living conditions.
There are lots of chess-related movies out there (Google "chess movies") and, of the half dozen or so I have seen, my favorite is "Searching for Bobby Fischer."
The dialog offers little by way of surprise. After Phiona loses a crucial match she expresses self-doubt and questions whether she should go on. Interacting with her coach after the loss, in a scene with a strong emotional buildup, her coach delivers the tired line, "You must never surrender."
I appreciated this having been filmed on location in Uganda. The bright colors are a delight to the eye. The costumes make a vivid impression, from the women's dresses to the more subtle intricate designs and colors of the men's shirts. The little insight into what life looks like in a Kampala slum is something I would never otherwise have gotten. I would like to have seen more of the daily life in Katwe.
Using non-professional actors for many of the roles worked two ways for me, it added authenticity at the expense of stilted acting.
In all movies "based on a true story" I always have a question as to just how many liberties were taken for audience appeal. This movie may have pushed the envelop--it tries to extract every last drop of emotion. The overt attempt to manipulate drains the true emotional content. A little research reveals that Mutesi's chess playing is not of the prodigy caliber as portrayed; her ranking by the World Chess Federation among active players is around 90,000. Her apparent financial success, as represented by her buying a nice house for her mother, could not have come from her chess wins, since any major money from tournament wins is awarded only to the very top players. The celebration of her last win make it look like it was for a national holiday. Is chess really that popular in Uganda? All of the exaggeration is not to take away from Mutesi's achievements that are extraordinary given her background and living conditions.
There are lots of chess-related movies out there (Google "chess movies") and, of the half dozen or so I have seen, my favorite is "Searching for Bobby Fischer."