Muss man ins Kino?
Über Bertina Heinrichs´ Schmonzette "Die Schachspielerin" habe ich ja eher Schlechtes gehört. Der darauf basierende Film (Trailer, Werbetexte des Verleihs, nachzulesen bei Chessbase, wo die Quelle ganz ganz unten genannt ist), der in Deutschland diese Woche und in Österreich Ende des Monats anläuft, dürfte unser Spiel nicht so lächerlich behandelt haben wie die Autorin. Jedenfalls hat die Regisseurin gleich zwei schachliche Berater zugezogen, nämlich Eric Birmingham, der einige Zeit Vachier-Lagrave und ich glaube auch Joel Lautier trainiert hat, und Cyril Humeau, einer der besten Spieler Korsikas, wo der Film gedreht und wohin die Handlung verlegt worden ist. Bitte, wer sich den Film ansieht, poste hier seine ehrliche Meinung darüber!
Nachtrag (10.Januar):
Schachblog-Leser scheinen den Film nicht zu sehen. Chessvibes-Leser dagegen schon. Wie die Kommentatoren dort schildern, haben die beiden Schachberater wenig ausgerichtet, damit Schach auf der Leinwand nicht verzerrend dargestellt wird. Der Film an sich hat aber nicht enttäuscht. So schreibt Michael:
"I saw the movie already in November at a French film festival. I’m afraid I can’t give a definite judgement because I’m still not sure if I liked it or not. As a chess player I’m probably more critical than non-chess playing viewers. The problem is that the film makers obviously didn’t have a clue about chess and for real chess players it’s hilarious to see all the clichés that have crept in and how unrealistic the plot ist.
A chambermaid who can’t tell a knight from a bishop plays a few games against a board computer and gets some advice in a deep and mysterious voice from an American amateur (”remember: the threat is stronger than the execution!”). Suddenly she can play sharp theoretical lines without ever having read a single chess book. As could be expected, at her first tournament ever (taking place in some dimly-lit library, as all chess tournaments do) she beats the crap out of everyone, including the arrogant club president who tries to confuse her with psycho tricks. Well, perhaps the film should be viewed as a kind of fairy-tale rather than a realistic story, but I couldn’t help laughing.
That said, the film does contain good ideas and the actors, especially Sandrine Bonnaire, play really well. It’s interesting to see the housemaid’s dilemma between her passion on the one side and her duties and society’s expectations on the other. The growing acceptance and in the end even pride of her family and friends are quite convincingly portrayed. So I would say that the film is, after all, well worth watching.
Btw, if the blindfold game at the end (a crazy King’s Gambit) seems familiar to you: yes, it’s Short-Piket, Madrid 1997"
Was Johannes bestätigend kommentiert:
"I watched the movie in the cinema yesterday, alas in German, and I can only confirm the opinion of Michael. The film is not very interesting as far as chess is concerned as chess is represented in a curious and superficial manner.
The movie would also have largely benefitted from at least some chess historic allusions, e.g. a mentioning of Capablanca watching his father play chess, Vera Menchik or Judith Polgar. And it would have been hilarious if the arrogant club president would have rejected to shake hands, told the (in)famous Fischer quote about woman and knights, retracted a move, or let himself serve a yoghurt during the final game.
The question if you like the film is simply a question if you like Sandrine Bonnaire or (Sandrine Bonnaire films) or not. As I like almost all films with Sandrine Bonnaire I also liked this one, though it is certainly not her best."
Auch der Schachblogger fand sie klasse in "La Cérémonie" und in "Confidences trop intimes" und wird sich irgendwann auch endlich "Sans toit ni loi" ansehen.
Nachtrag (10.Januar):
Schachblog-Leser scheinen den Film nicht zu sehen. Chessvibes-Leser dagegen schon. Wie die Kommentatoren dort schildern, haben die beiden Schachberater wenig ausgerichtet, damit Schach auf der Leinwand nicht verzerrend dargestellt wird. Der Film an sich hat aber nicht enttäuscht. So schreibt Michael:
"I saw the movie already in November at a French film festival. I’m afraid I can’t give a definite judgement because I’m still not sure if I liked it or not. As a chess player I’m probably more critical than non-chess playing viewers. The problem is that the film makers obviously didn’t have a clue about chess and for real chess players it’s hilarious to see all the clichés that have crept in and how unrealistic the plot ist.
A chambermaid who can’t tell a knight from a bishop plays a few games against a board computer and gets some advice in a deep and mysterious voice from an American amateur (”remember: the threat is stronger than the execution!”). Suddenly she can play sharp theoretical lines without ever having read a single chess book. As could be expected, at her first tournament ever (taking place in some dimly-lit library, as all chess tournaments do) she beats the crap out of everyone, including the arrogant club president who tries to confuse her with psycho tricks. Well, perhaps the film should be viewed as a kind of fairy-tale rather than a realistic story, but I couldn’t help laughing.
That said, the film does contain good ideas and the actors, especially Sandrine Bonnaire, play really well. It’s interesting to see the housemaid’s dilemma between her passion on the one side and her duties and society’s expectations on the other. The growing acceptance and in the end even pride of her family and friends are quite convincingly portrayed. So I would say that the film is, after all, well worth watching.
Btw, if the blindfold game at the end (a crazy King’s Gambit) seems familiar to you: yes, it’s Short-Piket, Madrid 1997"
Was Johannes bestätigend kommentiert:
"I watched the movie in the cinema yesterday, alas in German, and I can only confirm the opinion of Michael. The film is not very interesting as far as chess is concerned as chess is represented in a curious and superficial manner.
The movie would also have largely benefitted from at least some chess historic allusions, e.g. a mentioning of Capablanca watching his father play chess, Vera Menchik or Judith Polgar. And it would have been hilarious if the arrogant club president would have rejected to shake hands, told the (in)famous Fischer quote about woman and knights, retracted a move, or let himself serve a yoghurt during the final game.
The question if you like the film is simply a question if you like Sandrine Bonnaire or (Sandrine Bonnaire films) or not. As I like almost all films with Sandrine Bonnaire I also liked this one, though it is certainly not her best."
Auch der Schachblogger fand sie klasse in "La Cérémonie" und in "Confidences trop intimes" und wird sich irgendwann auch endlich "Sans toit ni loi" ansehen.
schachblogger - 6. Jan, 12:21
