After meeting chess teacher and missionary Robert Katende, Phiona Mutesi transforms from impoverished drop-out into a world-class chess master, carving an escape from a life of poverty.
The take
If you wanted to watch a woman that rose to the top rankings of chess, playing piece-to-piece against some of the greatest chess players of the world, you would probably think about watching The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, but you might be disappointed to find out that Beth Harmon isn’t real. However, there was one film before the iconic miniseries that depicted the story of a real life female chess player, one that clawed her and her family out of poverty through the game, and that story is Queen of Katwe. As a Disney original film, it does go through plenty of the familiar beats we’ve seen in the company’s previous works, but Mira Nair’s direction and the excellent performances of Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo create an underdog story that feels so sincere, so heartfelt, that it reportedly inspired Ugandan teenagers to do better in their national exams.
What stands out
Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo are great, of course, but the newcomers in the cast are able to match them too, especially leading lady Madina Nalwanga.
Comments
Add a comment
Your name
Your comment
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
More like this in
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.
8.1
The Guilty (2018)
A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.
9.0
System Crasher (2019)
A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.
9.0
His Three Daughters (2024)
Three sisters deal with life and death in this moving family portrait
8.9
Forgotten Love (2023)
The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama
7.7
Hail Satan? (2019)
Forget everything you think you know about the Satanic Temple
8.0
Incendies (2011)
Part melodrama, part war thriller, Incendies is gorgeous and heartbreaking from the first scene
9.9
Wind River (2017)
Sicario's screenwriter directs this story of murder in an Indigenous reserve
9.4
A Silent Voice (2016)
A coming-of-age movie that circles around friendship and the atonement of a boy
8.7
Cold War (2018)
A quiet Polish masterpiece with ravishing music and dazzling visuals