The chess player

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Movie
German title The chess player
Original title Joueuse
Country of production France , Germany
original language French
Publishing year 2009
length 100 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Caroline Bottaro
script Caroline Bottaro
Caroline Maly
production Dominique Besnehard
Michel Feller
music Nicola Piovani
camera Jean-Claude Larrieu
cut Tina Baz
occupation

The chess player (French original title: Joueuse , about: player) is the debut film by the German film director Caroline Bottaro from 2009. It is based on the novel La Joueuse d'échecs by Bertina Henrichs and describes the emancipation of a simple woman who finally Gained a bit of independence. While the novel is set on a Greek island, the director moved the film's plot to the French island of Corsica. The film was released in France on August 5, 2009, in Germany it was screened for the first time in October 2009 at a film festival in Tübingen and on November 10, 2009 at the 23rd Braunschweig International Film Festival . It was officially released in theaters on January 7, 2010. The filming took place near Bastia .

action

Hélène lives in a small Corsican village and works as a maid in a hotel. One day, while cleaning a hotel room, she sees an attractive American couple playing chess. Hélène's life changes suddenly. Fascinated by the game of chess, she begins to learn its rules to perfection. In the weird Dr. Kröger finds her a mentor and friend. But with her enthusiasm for the game, she soon risks her marriage, her good reputation and ultimately her entire life so far. Your mentor can convince you to take part in an amateur chess tournament. Thanks to the victory and the associated honor from her employer, she soon enjoys her success and finally receives the recognition she has always dreamed of.

Trivia

In the (German synchronization of the) scene shortly before the end, in which Hélène and Dr. Kröger plays blind chess , Kröger makes the impossible move "bishop j4" (the algebraic chess notation only knows the letters a to h). In the original French version, Kröger performs the move "runner g4", which was translated incorrectly because "g" and "j" sound very similar in French.

criticism

“A quiet, touching drama about emancipation, change and the social advancement of a woman who breaks out of her routine, finds self-confidence and joie de vivre and asserts herself in a male domain (albeit sketched in woodcut). Played complex and credible in the title role. "

“This overuse of the game of chess as an allegory for anything and everything, as well as the frustratingly incomprehensible attraction it exerts on Hélène, create an obsessive, strongly constructed film character. One can feel sorry for Sandrine Bonnaire, because she tries hard to keep Hélène alive and her psychology transparent in the many lonely moments in front of the black and white board through the leaps of the narrative. "

- Critic.de

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Critic.de: Filmkritik , accessed on June 21, 2013.