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Queen Of Katwe

Starring Lupita Nyong’o, Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo,

Directed by Mira Nair

Rating: **** ½

There she is, the maze-selling girl from the slums of Africa who becomes a chess champ, thanks to the indefatigable encouragement and support of her upright coach.

We’ve seen this story in countless motivational films including the recent grossly underrated Budhia Singh Born To Run. Well, if littleBudhia could run the marathon, wise and thoughtful Phiona is no less wedded to her own gamely bliss. Chess, as it happens to be. Her story is told here with a crackling transparency and a disarming sincerity verging on didacticism.

The poetry, if you will, pores out of the prosaic. The desperate rhythms of poverty are almost identical in every culture. Queen Of Katwe could be a story waiting to be told from the slum of Dharavi. No matter what the definition of poverty and squalor...

Queen Of Katwe is a Million Dollar Arm clone by way of chess and David Oyelowo instead of baseball and Jon Hamm, right down to similar strengths and weaknesses. Both films tell of underprivileged children being given the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to the salvation of competition, guided by the dedication of an influential mentor/coach. Disney proves once again that no one finds young talent like they do (Madina Nalwanga), storytelling beats walk a predictable path and our hearts are warmed. It doesn’t get better than a sunny true story, and director Mira Nair plans her moves with enough strategy so as not to waste Phiona Mutesi’s championship rise. It’s surely not the rawest, most provocative human tale, but a sweet coming-of-age survival story nonetheless.

It’s debut actress Madina Nalwanga who plays Uganda’s most unlikely chess champion, Katwe’s own Phiona Mutesi. Not...