O Xadrez das Cores

2004
21m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Zezeh Barbosa in O Xadrez das Cores (2004)

CIDA, a black woman of forty years will work for Mary, an old woman of eighty, childless widow who is extremely racist. The relationship between the two women begins tumultuous, with Mary gl... Read allCIDA, a black woman of forty years will work for Mary, an old woman of eighty, childless widow who is extremely racist. The relationship between the two women begins tumultuous, with Mary gloating over CIDA because she is black. CIDA put up it all in silence, for need of money, w... Read allCIDA, a black woman of forty years will work for Mary, an old woman of eighty, childless widow who is extremely racist. The relationship between the two women begins tumultuous, with Mary gloating over CIDA because she is black. CIDA put up it all in silence, for need of money, who decides to get revenge by playing a game of chess.

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IMDb RATING

6.3/10

YOUR RATING

1User review

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9Rodrigo_Amaro

Chess as a valid and poignant life metaphor on race issues

A quite admirable film with its proposition on dealing with the importance of the game of chess as a social reflection on people's lives, coming through opposite characters who have nothing in common and have to deal with each other because of circumstances. The first is the white old lady (Miriam Pires) who rejects the new employee of her house, a black maid (Zezeh Barbosa). The latter deals with countless racist remarks coming from the boss yet she persists on the job, always showing excellency in her work and little by little showing that she cares about the old woman who still keeps putting the other woman down. The game changes when the maid gets curious about chess, as the other constantly plays it, and with that a slightly bond is formed.

Here's a story about how a game can teach a lot about social relations and how the values given to the people because of color or position might alter because the possibilities are all there, everybody has the chance to grow and evolve and it all depends on the player and that same sentiment also works on the chess pieces.

Greatly performed by the actresses and with a great story to tell, the film is very commendable but audiences must endure a test of resistance with an almost endless series of racist and bigoted attacks from the initial moments and that can be problematic to some. I know that's the film's idea on showing that prejudice can be erased but the thing is that those sequences early on repeat itself in such a prolongued way it's exhausting. Other than that, it worths of view because of its main lesson which also shows that despite many differences there are some things that unites us all. 9/10.