Le joueur d'échecs

So much potential - but unfortunately it's so German in the end.

It is such an important baseline for this story: When you see all these angry and aggressive people in the streets of Vienna and relate them to nowadays' tendencies for nationalism in Europe - you might know why it is more than necessary to remember how things had started more than 100 years ago in Germany.

The original story in Stefan Zweig's novel is a bit more complex. And yes: A book is a book and a movie is a movie ... no need that one media is "the exact copy of the other". But there is definitely no need for so much overacting and/or underacting which is so typically German! (What might be good and helpful in real life - that most of us Germans are bad actors - is not funny when it comes to movies.)

Technical realization? Great. Camera, costumes, sound and light? Great as well. Catching the emotions? Well ... too German.

Please: Be more subtle when just raising an eyebrow would have been enough. Please: Show more (!) real (!) emotions when just declaiming the written lines of the script or pretending, playing and performing (instead of being) are not enough.

Otherwise it is hard to really feel and believe what could and should be told by the fabulous story. There was a good chance. There was so much effort by the director and the actors. But sometimes too much effort is too much.

"The Royal Game," directed by Philipp Stölzl in 2021, is a historical drama thriller based on the eponymous literary work by Stefan Zweig. Starring Oliver Masucci and Albrecht Schuch, the film delves into the poignant story of Joseph Bartok, a former Viennese notary who recalls the traumas of war, from his arrest by the Gestapo to his time spent in isolation, while clinging to a chess book found in his cell as a lifeline to overcome his psychological suffering.

The film's strengths lie first and foremost in the incredible acting performance of Oliver Masucci as Joseph Bartok. His portrayal is stunning, skillfully capturing the transformation of the character before and after his arrest, with remarkable emotional depth. The adaptation of Stefan Zweig's book is also well-executed, offering a fresh perspective to the story while remaining true to its essence. Philipp Stölzl's direction is of high quality, with dark and artistic visual effects in the framing that are visually captivating, particularly the chess game scene between Masucci and Schuch on the steamship, which is a true masterpiece.

However, despite these strengths, the film also has some weaknesses. The screenplay can sometimes feel sluggish, with scenes that are too slow-paced and may bore the viewer, compromising the artistic aspect of the film. Some passages could have been better paced to maintain the viewer's attention consistently.

In conclusion, "The Royal Game" is a film that will appeal to fans of tender and artistic films. The acting performances, direction, and book adaptation are undeniable strengths. However, the sometimes slow-paced screenplay may be a drawback for some viewers. I recommend this film to those who appreciate historical dramas with an artistic approach, and I give it a rating of 7/10.

This was the last work that Stefan Zweig finished, and naturally int was unpublished at his death in February 1942, and it is amazing how well it has been adapted for the screen, actually making it equal as a film to the original novella, which is neither a novel nor a short story but something in between, exploring the ultimate mental capacities of man under extreme duress constantly going too far, here by the means of the psychological torture of the Nazis going as far as murdering his best friend in front of his eyes, just to obtain some formal information by downright extortion and reckless blackmail; while the man survives to reach his freedom but at the cost of his sanity, as he loses all sense of reality and time in the outrageous process. Oliver Masucci makes an overwhelming performance going through massive ordeals, being transported like a modern Ulysses from the highest social position (the emperor of China) to internment in the hell of inhuman isolation. Everything in this film is just perfect, it is made like a psychological thriller, and although action is minimised and the dialog is sparse, the suspense is consistently strung to a breaking point, illustrated by the light bulbs repeatedly exploding. And yet the realism is always present. Objections could be raised against the last scene, which gives the impression of an unnecessary excuse, but many of Zweig's stories had similar almost disappointing endings. This is a top masterpiece which nothing can reduce from the ranks of one of the most significant films made after the war about the war, and so long afterwards at that, enhancing its pricelessness even more.

I have not read the book/source material for this. So I can't speak on how this was adapted. But I assume they did it justice. At least it feels like it. It is a wonderful film about being inside ... someone's brain. I reckon the closest you can get to it (no pun intended).

Very well played too. And the movie is edited in a way that while it may be confusing too, is also as intriguing as it can be. I almost want to read the book now. Only thing you have to be aware of: this is not so much about chess as it is about mental ... health/gymnastics. I reckon if you have your mind set on watching chess matches you might be dissapointed. Just so you know ...

Oliver Masucci knows how to act. First in "Er ist wieder da" & now in "Schachnovelle". Tough order, since Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens created a show stopping performance earlier. Michael Wortmann has to be applauded for the special effects & the cinematography is spectacular. Read Stefan Zweigs short story first, if you haven't already. The reviewer wonders, how the quote "Life is a game of chess" played a role in writing the novel as well as personal experiences. Wish Stefan Zweig had published more.

This film evokes an interesting thought process about the mind and still largely unknown brain. The acting is stellar as is the directing & editing. Prisoner's Dilemma and Viktor Emil Frankl's work make watching this film more interesting, although not closely connected to the film & short story, rather to the Angst, current events and the following two quotes by Stefan Zweig:

"In chess, as a purely intellectual game, where randomness is excluded, - for someone to play against himself is absurd ... It is as paradoxical, as attempting to jump over his own shadow." And: "All my life I have been passionately interested in monomaniacs of any kind, people carried away by a single idea. The more one limits oneself, the closer one is to the infinite; these people, as unworldly as they seem, burrow like termites into their own particular material to construct, in miniature, a strange and utterly individual image of the world." Enjoy watching & let us know, what you think.