Director: Mira Nair Starring: David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'O, Madina Nalwanga Studio: Walt Disney Pictures Genre(s): Drama Rated: PG (For thematic elements, an accident scene and some suggestive material) |
It is time folks. It
is time to prove your words actually mean something. It is time to put your money where your mouth
is. You have been criticizing Hollywood
for years (especially Disney) that they weren’t making interesting movies. That they were too busy making franchise tent
poles to make actual films anymore. You
have been complaining that black people have not taken center stage enough
times. When they do take center stage
you complain that they are still telling stories in the white man’s world while
ignoring the true African lifestyle. You
complain that women don’t direct enough mainstream movies (or movies in
general). You made a big deal about the
fact that after winning an Oscar for her debut performance in “12 Years a
Slave,” Lupita Nyong’o was forced to play a cartoon character in “Star Wars:
The Force Awakens.” Disney has addressed
ALL these issues with Mira Nair’s “Queen of Katwe!”
Based on the true story of Phiona Mutesi, “Queen of Katwe”
is the kind of rare adult drama we rarely see these days. It is emotional at all the right times. Exciting in the most unexpected ways. It is mature without having to go beyond the
(very reasonable) PG-rating. This is a
movie that starts with a sense of hopelessness and proceeds with victory in a
land that is unforgiving and cruel at times.
It takes place in Uganda, a country that is not known for great
opportunity. There is a section of the
country that is privileged, but for most of the people every day is a struggle
for survival. Most kids don’t go to
school because not only is the cost of a basic education out of reach for the
most part, but what the family needs aren’t scientists; they need food and
money to survive. This is the world
Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) lives in.
He is a sports instructor for a local Christian ministry
whose job it is to reach out to local kids.
While he wears many hats, his main focus is teaching the local kids
chess, a game that teaches discipline and critical thinking without resorting
to physical violence. When a young girl
with a foul odor enters his church one day he is unprepared for how
extraordinary she will be. While young
Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) needs a few lessons first, she proves to be an
exceptional chess player, one who could become (what is known in the game) as a
‘Grandmaster’ if she receives the proper training. There are problems with this dream though, as
Uganda is not a place that favors young kids with skills. It is a land where most need to scrape just
to get by. What’s more, Robert needs the
help of Phiona’s mother - Nakku (Nyong’o) – to help guide her daughter into a
potentially better future. Nakku is (in
her own words) an “uneducated woman,” and while she wants a better future for
her kids, she doesn’t know how to provide one.
In her defense, while Phiona is good at a board game, being
able to play any game for money is especially difficult. Imagine trying to make a living playing a
game that most of the world considers to be played primarily by grandpa’s and grumpy
politicians. I would have a hard time
finding out how people make a living playing this, and I live in America, where
we were home to arguably the greatest chess player of all time: Bobby
Fisher. This means that Phiona’s journey
is going to have much more roadblocks than your typical underdog sports hero
would have. Brilliantly though, the
movie isn’t completely about Phiona’s rise to chess fame, but rather how she
becomes a beacon of hope for not just her own future, but for her entire
family. Her mother doesn’t realize it,
but letting her daughter play chess may be the best thing she can do for the
family.
Even we as the audience don’t understand why this is going
to be the case until it actually happens, so in a way we are on this journey
with Nakku herself. We are discovering
just how much the game of chess is going to change all their lives as it is
happening. There is no forgone
conclusion in a movie like this; it is what it is. “Queen of Katwe” feels like a movie that
would be right at home in the independent film scene. It feels like something no major studio would
touch. Yet here it is, being released in
over 1,000 screens and being fully funded by Disney and ESPN. When the BluRay comes out it will be a real
treat if we can see the presentation pitch that convinced these giant
corporations to invest in something so personal.
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there is some strong references to prostitution (without anything being seen), some mature themes, and some minor language. However, it should be noted everything touchy that is discussed is discussed in a way that will go over the heads of younger viewers, and nothing explicit is seen. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
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