in French with subtitles
Limited release 4-1-11 (made in 2008/2009)
unrated (1:41)
7-16-11 at The Loft by myself (not a seat left in the upstairs theater!)
RT: 67% cag 79%
Director: Caroline Bottaro
Sandrine Bonnaire, Kevin Kline, Jennifer Beals
This was a very lovely movie. The setting was the island of Corsica, and it was a bout a mom who discovers the game of chess. She's a house cleaner, and she sees Jennifer Beals playing chess while sitting on the balcony of a b & b that overlooks the ocean. It's a lovely, somewhat sexy scene, and Helene is mesmerized by the memory of it. So much so that she buys her husband an electronic chess set for his birthday, even though neither of them have in any way encountered the game before.
Now...although the movie does not really focus on the actual game of chess, most of the rest of the movie revolves around learning it and playing it. Got a little too much chess-y for me. Kevin Kline plays the reclusive chess player that teachers her how to play - and who gives her the confidence in herself to go farther. This is another movie about a woman who breaks free of her long-standing cocoon and emerges as a butterfly. Sandrine Bonnaire plays the protagonist beautifully. What a lovely smile she has!
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