One of the really good things about Disney's Queen of Katwe is that someone finally decided to make a positive film about African people. As director Mira Nair cogently points out, most of the films about Africa involve war, dictatorships, child soldiers and famine. What's lost is the complexity and rich culture of many African communities. Here that complexity is richly on view, with the tale of Phiona Mutesi, a young girl who became an international chess champion from Katwe, an impoverished neighborhood in the capital city of Kampala, Uganda. In addition to an extraordinary cast, Nair is the real star here; I urge everyone to listen to her commentary about the film as part of the DVD extras. She is a brilliant woman who will keep you entranced with all the stories about the making of the film.
Nair went through hundreds of girls before she found dancer Madina Nalwanga and cast her as Phiona. The film star Lupita Nyong'o is great as her mother, Nakku Harriet, who can be best described as mother courage, keeping a strong, protective eye over her entire brood, consisting of a younger and older brother and an older sister Night (Taryn "Kay" Kyaze).
Phiona's "call to adventure" begins when she joins a chess club for Katwe kids run by government worker (and aspiring engineer) Robert Katende. David Oyelowo is brilliant as Katende, Phiona's mentor, teaching her the game of chess and encouraging her to fulfill her dreams. There is conflict throughout including when Phiona first joins the Pioneers (the Katwe chess kids) and is taunted for her lack of education (she's completely illiterate and doesn't begin school until she's 13 years old), her lack of good hygiene (as the family is too poor to have indoor plumbing) and also the fact that she is a girl. With Katende's help, Phiona gradually overcomes her lack of confidence and succeeds in the chess world, mainly populated by much more economically advantaged children.
The class differences in Ugandan society are highlighted in high relief when Nair shows us how the Katwe kids are treated when they arrive at their first formal chess competition at an upper class boarding school (the rich kids wipe their hands at every turn, for fear of infection by the kids from the "other side of the tracks). More conflicts emerge beyond Phiona's quest to leave Katwe and achieve true independence. Katende ends up giving up a much better paying job as an engineer, to continue to coach his kids. Meanwhile, Harriet butts heads with Katende as she wants to protect Phiona from disappointment. There's also the mother's conflict with the older daughter Night, who has been going out with questionable men who Harriet is convinced will eventually do her harm.
Phiona reaches her dark moment at the end of the second act when she loses at the Chess Olympiad in Russia. The "road back" is difficult as she's back home with her mother and realizes she no longer fits in at all in the impoverished Katwe world. The family endures one crisis after another: the younger brother is hit by a motorbike and Harriet doesn't have the money to pay the doctors at the hospital after they perform surgery; Harriet and the kids must endure a flood and are also evicted from their home. Phiona finally asks to stay with Katende and his wife where she begins to go to school and regain her confidence.
The denouement is heartfelt, as Phiona finally wins the national championship and is able to buy her mother her own home. Nair and her cinematographers capture the wonderfully colorful landscape of Uganda, utilizing a wide number of African pop songs, casting music pop stars in cameo roles. The film's only real drawback is the difficulty of making chess into something visually exciting. Nair actually does her best in that department, as there were actually 15 separate chess scenes, each having their own distinctive character (the focus is always on the players and spectators' visual reactions).
If you wish to learn something about African culture, The Queen of Katwe is the place to go. Africa will no longer be a threatening place after watching this film.
Nair went through hundreds of girls before she found dancer Madina Nalwanga and cast her as Phiona. The film star Lupita Nyong'o is great as her mother, Nakku Harriet, who can be best described as mother courage, keeping a strong, protective eye over her entire brood, consisting of a younger and older brother and an older sister Night (Taryn "Kay" Kyaze).
Phiona's "call to adventure" begins when she joins a chess club for Katwe kids run by government worker (and aspiring engineer) Robert Katende. David Oyelowo is brilliant as Katende, Phiona's mentor, teaching her the game of chess and encouraging her to fulfill her dreams. There is conflict throughout including when Phiona first joins the Pioneers (the Katwe chess kids) and is taunted for her lack of education (she's completely illiterate and doesn't begin school until she's 13 years old), her lack of good hygiene (as the family is too poor to have indoor plumbing) and also the fact that she is a girl. With Katende's help, Phiona gradually overcomes her lack of confidence and succeeds in the chess world, mainly populated by much more economically advantaged children.
The class differences in Ugandan society are highlighted in high relief when Nair shows us how the Katwe kids are treated when they arrive at their first formal chess competition at an upper class boarding school (the rich kids wipe their hands at every turn, for fear of infection by the kids from the "other side of the tracks). More conflicts emerge beyond Phiona's quest to leave Katwe and achieve true independence. Katende ends up giving up a much better paying job as an engineer, to continue to coach his kids. Meanwhile, Harriet butts heads with Katende as she wants to protect Phiona from disappointment. There's also the mother's conflict with the older daughter Night, who has been going out with questionable men who Harriet is convinced will eventually do her harm.
Phiona reaches her dark moment at the end of the second act when she loses at the Chess Olympiad in Russia. The "road back" is difficult as she's back home with her mother and realizes she no longer fits in at all in the impoverished Katwe world. The family endures one crisis after another: the younger brother is hit by a motorbike and Harriet doesn't have the money to pay the doctors at the hospital after they perform surgery; Harriet and the kids must endure a flood and are also evicted from their home. Phiona finally asks to stay with Katende and his wife where she begins to go to school and regain her confidence.
The denouement is heartfelt, as Phiona finally wins the national championship and is able to buy her mother her own home. Nair and her cinematographers capture the wonderfully colorful landscape of Uganda, utilizing a wide number of African pop songs, casting music pop stars in cameo roles. The film's only real drawback is the difficulty of making chess into something visually exciting. Nair actually does her best in that department, as there were actually 15 separate chess scenes, each having their own distinctive character (the focus is always on the players and spectators' visual reactions).
If you wish to learn something about African culture, The Queen of Katwe is the place to go. Africa will no longer be a threatening place after watching this film.