'Queen of Katwe' making the right move

Making a chess movie is very tricky. Your first problem is that the chess is perhaps the most uncinematic, as well as the most perplexing for a novice. Even those familiar with the rules needs to take some time to look at the battlefield and assess his next move. But on a silver screen, the chess stories are rarely dramatic.Traditionally speaking, the protagonist of a chess movie is often a brilliant but socially awkward male who uses this game to communicate when more common methods of communicated prove elusive. However, the 'Queen of Katwe' Disney's movie has an ace of spades in its charming heroine.

A quick preview

It is easy to applaud for Madina Nalwanga (Phiona Mutesi), a teenage girl living in a Ugandan town whose life seems to pick up substantially after she finds that she has a gift of seeing eight moves ahead. She begins to excel in the game and sees chess as a way to lift her people out of misery and poverty. Phiona's only problem is her mother, an overprotective single parent with understandable concerns about how her daughter will react when failure comes. Every time Phiona goes to play in a foreign country, she imagines living in a world that is better than her own. And every disappointment is not just a disappointment. A step back means she is retreating temporarily from being able to support her loved ones. There are struggles and it pushes all the details about the plot towards a better message than just 'money is everything'.

There are times when the message can seem a bit boring and the metaphors painfully heavy. However, it is necessary to remember that 'Queen of Katwe' is a PG movie and that for the younger generation, using a game as a metaphor for the struggles of life will register as the best way of conveying the lessons of life. It may be a bit punctilious for the mature audience but it is not that annoying when it has a novel idea to express.

Madina Nalwanga (Phiona Mutesi) playing chess

The 40 years old Nigerian-British actor David Oyelowo plays coach Robert Katende in the movie. He has called it 'a huge movement forward' for films and stories about African Continent and credits the talent of director Mira Nair who stayed in Uganda for more than 20 years.
As a matter of fact, there is endless vivacity and freshness John Carls produced movie, her best in decades. The settings are well shot by Sean Bobbitt and though it is difficult to attest to their authenticity, urban surroundings are not that intimately drawn. Conflict among the school kids may seem a bit blunt, but it is played for solicitous comedy.

Stacked alongside Disney's all time hits like 'Million Dollar Arm', 'Miracle', Invincible and the 'Rookie', the 'Queen of Katwe' is the best movie yet produced by the studio. It is a movie that is charming, thoughtful, heartwarming and unforgettable. It is fine to have heroes who are physically strong and gifted, but it is beautiful to watch a movie that has a woman at the top of the game.

Take a glance of 'Queen of Katwe' official trailer