I put off watching Queen of Katwe for a long time. It was there on Netflix, and I figured, I can wait. Why did I wait? Because I was a fool. Queen of Katwe is a thoughtful, compassionate movie I have never seen the like of.
In most dramas, situations are exploited in a manner that gets you to like the main character more and the antagonists less. You might see a murder in all its grisly details. You see the CEO barking orders to his employee, who is supposed to close down a shop or another, and of course, comes to love a secondary protagonist who owns or runs the shop.
There is conflict in this movie. But the social conflict in the movie is largely assigned to the main characters...the *pro*tagonists, not the antagonists. We see antagonists, but there is no “revenge” scene where the protagonists gleefully succeed in saving the shop. In fact, most of the protagonists in the movie are not well off. They are impoverished. The titular city, Katwe, is full of people looking for a home and low on money. They work and work and get so little in return, and cannot afford to stay in a home that barely qualifies as a house. The movie doesn’t shy away from hardship. It is a key theme.
However, the main conflict in the movie is assigned to a different thing altogether: Chess. Queen of Katwe brilliantly uses chess as a unifier. It largely (as it sometimes divides) the protagonists, under the tutelage of Robert Katende, a skilled chess player. He loves to give children something worthwhile to do, and feels chess is just the thing to help them succeed in life and rise above their station.
Phiona, the main character, has a mother that tends to disagree. She loves her family, and is overprotective. She also wants her family to live and succeed, but is far more pessimistic than Robert. But as she sees Phiona succeeding at chess, she begins to change her view, even though Phiona becomes so occupied with chess that she neglects basic duties.
Most of all, we see change. People can turn from their selfishness and become something more. We see this. Despite all the bleakness in the movie, the undercurrent is that of hope. Phiona, in her pursuit, gives Katwe someone and something to celebrate, something they do so little of.
Queen of Katwe is a deliberately paced triumph. It’s not “The Avengers” and it’s not your basic drama. And it’s still on Netflix.
I put off watching Queen of Katwe for a long time. It was there on Netflix, and I figured, I can wait. Why did I wait? Because I was a fool. Queen of Katwe is a thoughtful, compassionate movie I have never seen the like of.
In most dramas, situations are exploited in a manner that gets you to like the main character more and the antagonists less. You might see a murder in all its grisly details. You see the CEO barking orders to his employee, who is supposed to close down a shop or another, and of course, comes to love a secondary protagonist who owns or runs the shop.
There is conflict in this movie. But the social conflict in the movie is largely assigned to the main characters...the *pro*tagonists, not the antagonists. We see antagonists, but there is no “revenge” scene where the protagonists gleefully succeed in saving the shop. In fact, most of the protagonists in the movie are not well off. They are impoverished. The titular city, Katwe, is full of people looking for a home and low on money. They work and work and get so little in return, and cannot afford to stay in a home that barely qualifies as a house. The movie doesn’t shy away from hardship. It is a key theme.
However, the main conflict in the movie is assigned to a different thing altogether: Chess. Queen of Katwe brilliantly uses chess as a unifier. It largely (as it sometimes divides) the protagonists, under the tutelage of Robert Katende, a skilled chess player. He loves to give children something worthwhile to do, and feels chess is just the thing to help them succeed in life and rise above their station.
Phiona, the main character, has a mother that tends to disagree. She loves her family, and is overprotective. She also wants her family to live and succeed, but is far more pessimistic than Robert. But as she sees Phiona succeeding at chess, she begins to change her view, even though Phiona becomes so occupied with chess that she neglects basic duties.
Most of all, we see change. People can turn from their selfishness and become something more. We see this. Despite all the bleakness in the movie, the undercurrent is that of hope. Phiona, in her pursuit, gives Katwe someone and something to celebrate, something they do so little of.
Queen of Katwe is a deliberately paced triumph. It’s not “The Avengers” and it’s not your basic drama. And it’s still on Netflix.
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