Endgame

Endgame was among the nicest films I have seen this year. Based on the true story of a young rolly polly boy who lives in USA with his Mexican mother, elder brother (a star player of his school team) and his grand mother who has been teaching him chess.

The film starts to move forward within minutes, and saying anything else would be a spoiler (so yes - a lot happens - every few minutes!).

Some moments of the film tug at your heart (I could sense moments where I may have felt - and I am sure many other viewers too may have felt a feeling of deja vu - just like this child, albeit a few decades ago). Others make you smile, and some make you laugh.

If there is one thing this movie is, it is genuine. No pretenses.

It is only at the end that one realizes that this film is based on a true story of a small town in Texas.

The acting by everyone is excellent - especially the kids who act exactly like kids would have behaved. The music is lovely - Mexican style guitar mixed with simple songs.

Highly recommended viewing. Even if (perhaps especially if) you do not have any interest in the game of chess. For the film is more about childhood, dreams and people that about the game. And That, is a universal theme.

The name of the game here is Chess. Rico Rodriguez (Manny from Modern Family) plays the disconnected Texan son of Mexican heritage, Jose, in this family drama that deals with issues of bereavement and the challenges of being a single parent all thrown into the bag. Bullied at school Jose finds solace and escape from his mother (The always brilliant Justina Machado) in becoming a skillful chess player, taught by his Chess Guru Aunt (Ivonne Coll, who steals the film with her sensitive performance). Jose's talents are soon spotted by one of his more dedicated teachers, Mr Alvarado (Vote for Pedro!) who decides to build a chess team from all the kids who are regular in detention. Unsupported by the school who would rather see its cabinets filled with football trophies, he never the less persists and enters the team into local competitions. The family are soon torn asunder by a sudden bereavement and Jose feels more isolated from his mother than ever. Will Chess be the thing that brings them all together again and put the school of Brownsville on the map in the young people's chess tournament?

Films about Chess, do not always make for the most exciting of viewing, fortunately here it is used more as a tool in the story to explore other social issues facing our main characters. Brownsville is a multi racial Texan school with a large population of Mexicans. Deportations of illegals are common and often responsible for the breaking up of families and in Jose's case, part of his emotional support network. The film perhaps tries to cover a little too much but it succeeds admirably well in exploring this and other issues facing people in this situation today. What it lacks in dynamics it more than makes up for with the extremely talented young cast, many of whom are virtual unknowns and the film has a whole heap of heart. The kids in cast are all extremely good, so much credit must go to the Casting Director, for finding such a talented bunch. It's nicely shot and the more experienced older actors round out the cast well. Eventually through his persistence Jose finds redemption and his mother finds her son again, the journey of these characters makes for a heart warming story and informs you a little more about the plight of Mexican immigrants along the way. It did feel at times as if I was watching two films and not everything worked perhaps as well as intended, but I want to be clear that this was a well made film, well acted and directed and I would recommend it. If only all the worlds conflicts could be solved with a game of chess.

I love this honest, innocent movie. I would feel entirely comfortable sharing it with my grandchildren yet it could be a great conversation starter. The characters and their problems are believable. The life lessons are the ones many of us must face. I have no idea why it has a low IMDb score, since it does such a wonderful job of pulling me into caring about the characters. It's also refreshing to see a made in America movie with actors that look like actual people in realistic settings. The Rio Grande Valley is best known for its poverty and as the front line to undocumented workers. Endgame lets us see beyond these issues, to the hearts of people who cope bravely and dream of a better life.

Overall, the movie was watchable ad enjoyable. Perhaps more geared toward children. The acting and script was not great, but OK. I watched this largely because I am a chess master and was curious. The moves and the positions on the board are extremely well done. They clearly used a good chess consultant to get the positions right, which most movies do not. So major kudos on getting the "chess" part right! Just one side note: In a scene mid-way through the movie, the boy plays a very good queen sacrifice, and checkmates his opponent with a double-check and then a knight move. But later he loses when he misses a simple back-rank mate. Not consistent; but the "chess" itself is right.