La Reine des jeux

Starring Makenna Ballard in her first credited role ever apparently, she stands out among a heavy hitting cast that are clearly enjoying themselves. A little Game tells the story of Max a 10 year old city girl growing up in NYC with ethnic parents who work hard at jobs that don't pay nearly as well as they should. Max is a gifted student who is not challenged by her current school and her parents sacrifice to get her into a special private school for others like her.

Told from within the bubble of Max's understanding of normal, challenging, right & wrong, the film follows her experiences as she seeks to find her own place when she asks one of the old men playing chess in the park to teach her the game. Her family and friends drift in and out of the story as they intrude on her private thoughts and immediate life.

Olympia Dukakis as Max's grandmother sets the tone when she tells her not to let life happen to her but that she should happen to life.

An interesting insulated slice of life in New York, the movie shines a light on the more imaginative escapist life of a gifted child with great accuracy and gentleness without ever wandering into the darker corners that would have changed the light nature of this wonderful film. Suitable for both children an adults, A little game compares favourably with The World of Henry Orient. Some of the fantasy elements do interfere with the narrative, but not so much as to ruin the story.

I'll gladly watch this one again any time it comes up.

First of all it is a disgrace that her credit is so far down on IMDB's list of actors for this movie. She is the main character, not some side character. Hers should be the first credit listed.

But other than this and an obscure TV movie that I can't find anywhere, she only has two credits to her name. Does anyone know why?

She was outstanding in this sweet little movie. She could express different emotions just with slight changes of facial expressions. I was expecting to see more from her, as she proved to be an excellent actress in this movie. She should have had a long, successful career ahead of her in films. I hope nothing bad happened to her.

Anyway, if you get a chance, see this movie. It is uplifting, but not overly saccharine. Even an old gruff guy like me enjoyed this fine film immensely.

I am very impressed by the acting of the kid

The movie is interesting, but not especially amazing. Above average. I believe it's quite enjoyable for people who like this style of movie though. It slightly reminds me of Matilda, maybe due to comedy elements and smart girl.

Garafalo is a bit under utilized. I have been a big fan for years and think she's great. But of course the movie is about the girl, so it's to be expected that she's under utilized.

There's some funny lines in the movie. For example the mentor remarks, in response to a question, 'Is it bigger than a breadbox?' And the girl says 'XBox"? And he says 'What's an XBox". And she says 'What's a breadbox'. Very funny gender gap commentary

It's not a good chess movie IMO. If you want more about chess, see something else, IMO. I feel like this movie misrepresents the game a bit and how one would learn about it.

The film is about a ten year old girl in Greenwich Village in New York City named Max. Her parents are played by Ralph Maachio and Janeane Garofalo. They're working class people. Her father is a building superintendent and the mother is a chef at a restaurant. Her grandmother was played by Academy Award winner, Olympia Dukakis who rarely gets to play Greek-American roles. Max gets accepted into a private school uptown where she tries to fit in. The film has a lesson about life through the game of chess. F. Murray Abraham played the unlikely older man who helps Max learn the game and rules about life. The film looks like it was shot entirely on location in New York City.

This is a light hearted wonderful family movie. The newcomer, Makenna Ballard, takes to the film like she has been on camera her whole life and without IMDb, it would not be easy to tell this is her first project. The cast is spot on for most of the characters and the heavy weights don't let you down, (F. Murray Abraham and Olympia Dukakis).

The fantasy elements seemed unnecessary and tripped up the pacing and impact of Abraham's lessons. If they would have just played it straight instead of the fantasy elements the story would have had a deeper impact with it's message of using your brain to find your way out of situations, but they relied on fantasy to help out her brain instead.

The childhood rivalries are familiar, but that's because they ring true, and what is more familiar than the truth?

It's a fun movie and many of the messages are good for kids and good to be reminded of for adults.