The shift in demeanor conveys her initial anxiety as well as the confidence she gains with every strategic move. Katende’s expressions shift from a look of anxiety to one of ecstasy without the help of dialogues, visuals or audio cues. In Mutesi’s first chess match at King’s College in Uganda, she is clearly intimidated by her wealthy and educated opponent – who is also last year’s champion –because Mutesi has no education or experience. Nalwanga and the supporting cast conveyed the weight of the game with their facial expressions. But the chess tournament scenes in South Sudan, Russia and Uganda sustained the tension of an unknown outcome without needing to know the meanings of the chess moves. It is very difficult to bring compelling visuals to a chess movie, since the chess tournament scenes must be long enough to tell what happened in the game and the climax takes place on a lifeless chess board. Without any education, banking solely on her natural aptitude and the guidance of Katende, Mutesi competes in national and international chess tournaments. Mutesi’s life takes an unexpected turn when she discovers a chess club in an abandoned church run by Robert Katende (David Oyelowo), an engineer-turned-missionary. A 10-year-old Ugandan girl, Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) hawks vegetables in the streets of Katwe to aid her mother, Nakku Harriet (Lupita Nyong’o), a single parent of four struggling to make ends meet. The plot takes place over the span of five years. Resolute human spirit triumphs over acute poverty in “Queen of Katwe.” Based on a true story, the film takes the audiences through the trash-strewn slums of Kampala where a small chess club of underserved children produces a world-class chess prodigy. Nair lived in Uganda for over two decades and brought her knowledge of the country and its inhabitants to the film’s vibrant sets and complex characters. Though Disney’s new film, “Queen of Katwe,” follows a narrative dangerously close to the Hollywood rags-to-riches cliché, it feels fresh thanks to the directorial brilliance of veteran filmmaker Mira Nair.
#Queen of katwe review movie
It’s difficult to make a movie unpredictable and authentic when it’s a foreign biopic in English - especially when the plot follows a girl from a developing country with dreams too big for her village.