Xeque-Mate

This may be the best chess movie i have watched, and i watch any I can find.

--The original title to this movie is Joueuse, the feminine form of "player", which say a lot about the movie

--I think Joueuse and 'Queen to play' says it all, it has wheels within wheels regarding a woman's traditional role VS wanting more out of life without losing those things you originally love

--The makers of this movie also manage to incorporate the primary attributes a great chess player has in their character, and they do this in such a way that blends them seamlessly into the movie.

I know there are some chess movies that are 'based on true events', but if a viewer does the research, they will find that the actual facts are so far removed from the actual story, that it may as well be fiction

I found this movie to have multiple layers to it - like real life

I largely agree with what others have said here. But there is one flaw that nobody seems to have noticed: not one game of chess in this movie ends with a draw. As everybody with some knowledge of the game is aware of, draws are the rule among advanced players of chess, so a tournament such as the one shown in the movie that works by elimination (quarterfinals, semifinals, final), with only one game between a pair of contestants, is simply not realistic. (The tie could be broken through a game of fast chess, but this is not shown either.) It goes without saying that the whole dramaturgy of the movie would be significantly altered by the sheer possibility of draws. To sum it up, I consider chess a poor choice for communicating the message of this movie. Choose a game that does not permit draws and the problem is solved--although then the somewhat heavy handed symbolism of the queen as the strongest piece would have to be sacrificed.

"Queen to Play" is a sweet, small, powerful film about a cleaning woman's discovery of passion and dignity through chess. Sandrine Bonnaire plays Helene, a 40 something cleaning woman on the tourist island of Corsica. She's got a nice, handsome, construction worker husband, a snotty teenage daughter struggling through growing pains, an imperious boss at a resort hotel, and a quiet, reasonable, low-rent life.

One day Helene picks up the game of chess, and everything changes. Chess engages her mind and passion. For the sake of learning more about the game, she does things she never would have done, otherwise. She asks a man she cleans for, Dr. Kroger (Kevin Kline) to play with her. The grouchy older man rebuffs her at first, but she offers to clean for free, and he accepts. "Do you always look at people as if your life depended on their answer to your question?" Dr. Kroger asks her.

In fact Helene's life does depend on her newfound passion for chess. Helene demands time to learn about the game. She is distracted in conversations were before she might have listened more sympathetically or joined in petty, local gossip. She schedules hours alone with a man. She answers back to demanding customers at the resort. She snaps at her family, "Would it kill you to cook your own dinner for one night?" Just who does Helene think she is? She is, after all, only a cleaning woman, the chess club president reminds her. His arrogance will not serve him well when he butts up against Helene.

"Queen to Play" is a small film. The script is spare. The film is lovely but not spectacular. Sandrine Bonnaire's great beauty and her performance are its best special effect. I wish there had been a bit more depth and development. But what is here is really powerful. We've gotten so used, in the US, to thinking of injustice and prejudice as being, primarily, about black versus white. "Queen to Play" shows how being a cleaning woman is itself a handicap in society, how expectations can squash a human being, and the price people pay for even the most simple gesture of coloring outside the lines of others' expectations. I admire and like Helene as I do few other film heroines. And I'd love to see Bonnaire play a saint someday. Her face is made for it.

I liked the movie, although it wasn't perfect. The acting is decent, although some of the interactions between people seem forced. I would bet the book was better than the film, but I haven't read it. The story is about a cleaning lady who somehow discovers she likes chess and she convinces one of her clients to teach her to play. The entire chess angle is about female emancipation and not about the game itself, though.

What I liked most about the film is that at first people are resistant to the idea, assuming that no one can do anything to get out from their predestined little box, but then they snap out of it and are supportive to the lead character. There is no villain, perhaps except the guy she beats during her first tournament, but his role is minor. The entire film is about a woman discovering herself and what she can do. An important scene is when she reads Martin Eden and interprets the end as the natural thing to do. Of course, she rejects that idea later on.

A surprising thing is that the film stars three American actors. Kevin Kline speaks perfect French with an American accent and Jennifer Beals is there for just a few scenes to inspire Sandrine Bonnaire's character to play the game. I don't know what the angle was, but surely they didn't do it for the money, which is always soul cleansing for actors.

Bottom line: if you liked Queen's Gambit, you might like this one, too. It's a very similar story of emancipation through tallent, effort and the support of others. But if you want to watch it for the chess, there is very little of it.

Hélène is "a simple housemaid", living a very modest life with her husband and daughter, who both take her for granted. One day, after watching a couple play chess in idyllic conditions, she decides to learn how to play.

Throughout the film, chess is very much a symbol for Hélène aspiring to more in life. At one point, while trying to teach her husband how to play, her eyes light up as she says "La dame est la pièce la plus forte... c'est fou hein?" which could be roughly translated as "The queen is the strongest piece on the board... crazy, huh?".

This single sentence seems to encapsulate the whole state of mind of our protagonist. On one hand, the idea that she could accomplish anything, even be great or the best at anything seems far-fetched to her, yet terribly enticing. She is on a journey towards self-realization that is both exciting and a little scary to Hélène and those around her.

Sandrine Bonnaire is absolutely amazing as usual, and succeeds in showing the state of mind of her character in very few words. Kevin Kline is great as well playing Dr. Kröger, the man who teaches chess to Hélène and develops an unusual and complex bound with her. There are lots of nuances in their relationship and again, in few words, we as viewers can sense a lot is going on. Tension, attraction, challenges.

Caroline Bottaro's direction captures very well Hélène's modest and quiet life and the implicit contrasts between social classes.

I recommend this movie. If you are not convinced yet, give Guy Bellinger's review (here on IMDb) a read.