User Reviews

'Joueuse' is the promising first feature film signed by Caroline Bottaro, who also wrote the script from Bettina Henrichs' (first as well) novel 'La Joueuse d'Echecs'. The story revolves around Hélène, an unsatisfied woman with an undistinguished job (hotel maid). She has a kind husband but who has become aloof lately and a teenage daughter who is beginning to become rebellious. One day, while she is doing their room, she observes a loving couple while they are playing chess on the balcony. Fascinated by this handsome man and this beautiful woman obviously in love, having wonderful time together, she is so impressed that she unconsciously associates the happiness of the couple with chess. As a result she decides to learn the game and what better chess instructor could she have than Dr. Kröger, at whose house she does the housework? The trouble is that the retired American, a widower, is also a grumpy haughty misanthropist. But carried away by her determination she cajoles and coerces him into teaching her the subtleties of chess so much so that she becomes good and even surpasses her master's abilities. And not only does she become a champion but, after a period of tension, she gets reconciled with both her husband and daughter.

Summarized the way I have just done, 'Joueuse' could be either good or bad depending on the style (or lack of it) of its director. It could be heavy-handed, gushy or over-technical in the field of chess. Fortunately, Caroline Bottaro does not fall into any of these traps. On the contrary, she is a winner in every department.

First asset: the choice and direction of actors. Sandrine Bonnaire, to begin with, as fresh, sincere and beautiful as ever, is an ideal Hélèneall more as the actress has gone through basically the same destiny in real life as the fictional character she embodies (born into just another family, she blossomed into the great actress she is now). Less obvious is the choice of Kevin Kline as Helene's Pygmalion. But the result is fabulous: as the intelligent but bitter and lonely Dr. Kröger, he is totally convincing in his first performance in French. Well directed by Bottaro, he succeeds in making the evolution of his character from difficult and unpleasant to humane and respectful quite believable. But the magic of it all is the chemistry, both intellectual and sensual, that emanates from Kline and Bonnaire and unites them almost mystically. It is also a nice idea to have Jennifer Beals (the welder that escaped mediocrity through dance in 'Flashdance' back in 1983) pass the buck to Bonnaire.

Second quality, Catherine Bottaro films the games of chess very intelligently, capturing the suspense inherent in them without being too technical. I personally do not know much (to be fair, this is a blatant understatement) about chess but I never got bored so I presume you will not either. Two games are particularly exciting to watch: one played by proxy by Kline and Bonnaire and another one played by the same in which eroticism unexpectedly mixes with the intellectual pleasure of the game.

Thirdly, the social commentary (the description of the working conditions of the characters, the threat of unemployment, the new class struggle: the haves despising the have-nots) is quite relevant and, although only a secondary aspect of the film, adds authenticity to the story.

Last but not least, the writer/director is a past master at describing the development and side effects of a passion: because of it, Hélène becomes obsessed by chess, isolated from her family, cut off from her friends and less effective in her work. But Bottaro also shows how a passion, duly channeled by the person concerned and accepted by the persons close to her, can transcend her, turning the unsatisfied, frustrated, incomplete person she was at first into a fulfilled human being.

A very good self-discovery movie, set in an amazingly beautiful landscape (the Red Rocks in the Piana region in South Corsica), which is no bad thing. Not to be missed.

Helene, a married woman in Corsica, works as a maid in a local hotel to help her husband, a dock worker, make ends meet. One day, as she goes to clean up a room, she is surprised to find the couple staying in it out in the balcony engaged in a game of chess. It intrigues her the way the young woman beats her man, in what appears to be skillful playing.

Helene also cleans the house of a lonely American widower, Kroger, living in seclusion in a big mansion. She discovers her employer owns a set of chess. Kroger, entering the room she is cleaning, sees her observing the pieces of the game, and politely asks her to put it back where she found the box. Helene decides this is a game she must learn. It will be her way to escape her dreary life.

As her husband's birthday nears, she buys him an electronic chess set, something that baffles him. Little does he realize the game is not for him, but for her. Helene gets bold when she asks Kroger to teach her to play chess in exchange for her cleaning the house for nothing. He agrees, and thus begins a strange relationship between these odd couple that apparently has nothing in common.

The game begins to take hold of Helene in ways she never suspected. Her work at the hotel suffers because all she thinks is about moves and timing as she prepares herself mentally for the meetings with Kroger. Helene becomes so good she beats Kroger almost continuously, something that pleases him. They even share a game where each one go through movements in their minds without a board. They discover an intimacy that will not go beyond the afternoon sessions. In the process, Helene gains respect to make it in the local tournament and the possibility of making something else of her life.

This is a delicious film that will delight chess players and even people that have no idea about the game. "Joueuse" is the first film by Caroline Bottaro, which she adapted from a Bertina Henrichs novel. The game, in a way, is a metaphor, one in which Helene gets empowerment through her knowledge of a game that is dominated by males. It is also a sort of liberation for the Corsican housewife without any possible future other than being a maid because she has no other skills. Her determination to succeed is bigger than all the obstacles that come her way.

An inspired Sandrine Bonnaire, one of France's leading actresses, is a joy to watch in the film. Ms. Bonnaire is usually seen in more dramatic fare, but she makes a delightful contribution to the success of this movie. Kevin Kline surprises as Kroger, the enigmatic man suffering an unknown lung disease which never comes clear. The relationship between Helene and Kroger is never sexual, although there is an electric current between them all the time.

Strongly recommended for fans of chess and for the strong combination of Sandrine Bonnaire and Kevin Kline under the direction of talented Caroline Bottaro, a new talent in the French cinema.

I was curious to watch this movie based on IMDb's full storyline and Kevin Kline's participation, not to mention Sandrine Bonnaire's lead, an accomplished international actor I had not seen in a while. I knew to expect a somewhat slow pace because of the storyline; logically a slow pace was called for as this had to be a character development piece. Of course I was right; I'd skip that comment if I wasn't. There are a few other reviews of the movie preceding mine, all quite good as well; I'd encourage all to read them since I won't be covering the story as much as those reviews but rather how I feel about the experience.

Bonnaire's character has an epiphany while watching Jennifer Beals enjoying a chess match with her friend /husband /lover; the alluring Beals, distracting a bit, got our heroine Bonnaire thinking. This was the beginning of Hélène's (role played by Bonnaire) emancipation and self discovery. The movie is the process of Hélène's journey. There's no real or poignant dramatic moment, it's not this movie's process. The movie is fluid; the flow is however like the smallest of stream and widest river, unstoppable.

I so enjoyed Kline's acting, it is my favourite by him since Silverado(1985) and Trade(2007); considering his over forty something total movies, you can conclude his depiction of Kröger (role played by Kline) was perfect in my view. It's even a pleasure to hear his actual voice recite his dialogue in French. Well it's a French movie, in case you had not picked that up yet. His character, an expat living out what we believe to be the remainder of his life in Corsica, has for me a personal a very appealing romantic edge.

Back to Bonnaire, she is believable in each and every scene; either the director was great at her job, Bonnaire is exceptionally intuitive or their collaboration was simply flawless. I'll go with a bit of each. Contextual details were not neglected; a subtle reference to the fact that women are a rarity at chess tournaments did not escape me. I know that from personal experience. The crowd 'Hélène' attracts at her tournament match final would have been gawking at a woman in real life as well. I liked this very well done and acted movie; I feel sorry so many will not see it or have what it takes to enjoy it.

The film "A Queen to Play" is one French film I enjoyed. I loved the acting of Sandrine Bonnaire! She played her timid, meek, not outspoken character very well and was able to change with the character into an independent woman who can accomplish great things on her own two feet. I also loved the setting of the movie, Corsica is a beautiful area! The director, Caroline Bottaro, won an award for this movie at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in 2010. She has worked with Sandrine Bonnaire before in "C'est La Vie." Two ideas I thought were interesting about this movie were the idea of a woman playing in a man's sport and the idea of renewing oneself. In this movie, the character Helene (Sandrine Bonnaire) attempts to learn to play chess, which the movie portrays as a man's sport. However, the men are taken by surprise. The idea of renewing oneself is one main idea that stands out in this movie. Helene starts off as a timid and introverted maid who has settled for her life and goes through the same everyday motions. The movie ends with an independent, going after what she wants,and self-satisfying woman. An example of this would be how in the beginning, she never defies her husband and in the end, she does what she wants knowing he does not approve nor support her.

This movie was wonderful and tells a great story. I recommend seeing it for the acting, scenery, story line, and music. The music in this movie goes along with the setting nicely. The music is light and soft, just how Corsica is pictured in the film.

The only somewhat negative thing I can say is that the movie is very long for what the story line is. The real action doesn't happen till the very end. However, definitely still worth seeing!

From the first scene I wanted to physically BE where this film was made. The location shots are absolutely stunning. Hèléne (Sandrine Bonnaire) is a maid who works in a hotel as well as the private home of an expat American, Dr. Kröger (Kevin Kline). While at the hotel, you get the impression that she is harangued and bothered all day long. She is an invisible worker who people only notice when they have something to complain about. However, on this particular day, one of the rooms she enters has a young couple playing chess on the veranda. They are separated from her by nothing more than a loose, sheer panel that sways gently in the breeze but they may as well be miles away. They beckon her to enter the room and she does but she cannot take her eyes off of them while half-heartedly trying to focus on cleaning the room. They each in turn notice her prolonged gaze but they do not mind. She is asked if she plays chess and says no. In that instant, she realizes the great chasm between her life and the two lovers on the veranda. They are carefree, they are in love, they are fulfilled, they are confidant, they are happy, they understand the game. She perceives their status to be out of her reach. She wants to occupy that space but she just doesn't know how nor does she truly believe that she can.

By the end of the movie, we see Hèléne achieving her goal of playing an intellectually stimulating and sensually arousing game of chess with her own secret lover but her version far surpasses the scene she first glimpsed early on in the film that started the whole ball rolling. The last chess scene is a scene that says so much about the characters, their deep understanding of the game, their devotion and love to each other, intellectual equals duking it out with an invisible board and chess pieces all visualized and strategized in their minds. Their moves are whispered quietly, eyes transfixed on each other, as they parry for the win. The scene plays homage to the superficially simple yet complex game of chess and to the deep and abiding friendship and love between Dr. Kröger and Hèléne. She always had the power, she just didn't know it, nor did she understand how to use it. Dr. Kröger filled in the blanks and then some. The last scene between them is probably one of the best love scenes I've ever had the privilege to see on screen. And so I leave you with this: Wow!

P.S. I found it interesting how this film compares and contrasts with the Japanese film, "Shall We Dance".

For those who like to see character transformation, this movie is for you. When we first meet Hélène she cleans houses and hotels to help her family (husband and teenage daughter) make ends meet. Hélène's daily life is routine--she is ignored by her husband and disrespected by her daughter. Seeing an attractive couple playing chess as if it were foreplay, Hélène is excited by the idea of the game and buys a computer chess game. She becomes absorbed by the game but can only make limited progress with the computer. She cleans house for a widowed American Dr. Kröger who just happens to be a chess player. She asks Kröger to play and he finally agrees to a game. I thought I knew where the story was going from there, but it did not go there.

The main theme touched on is how a passion can change a life. Through her passion for chess Hélène's life is transformed as is the life of her family. Hélène proves false the stereotype that a mere cleaning lady could not be good at chess, or for that matter that a woman should not have talent for the game.

The relationship that develops between Hélène and Dr. Kröger is at the heart of the movie. The excellent performances of Kevin Kline as Dr. Kröger and Sandrine Bonnaire as Hélène are what put this movie over the top. They are a delight. The scene where they play a game only by voicing the moves is about as intimate as any love scene.

I had a little difficulty believing that Hélène's skill could advance as quickly as portrayed, particularly her learning the game in middle age. I would think that the latent talent required would have expressed itself in some manner at an earlier age.

For a much more believable chess story, see "Searching for Bobby Fischer." Based on a true story, the kid's development in that movie is exceedingly well presented. A movie that treats the same theme of a passion surfacing at a later age is, "Everlasting Moments." The passion there is photography and again I found the development in that movie more believable, probably due to the fact that that movie is based on a true story. "Queen to Play" is a fictionalized conflation of these two fact-based movies.

The gentle musical score makes a good accompaniment. Corsica, where this was filmed, makes for good background scenery.

Although there are elements bordering on fantasy, I found this movie engaging and well worth seeing.

We saw this on Netflix streaming movies. French with English subtitles, it was not hard at all. In fact my wife, who usually avoids subtitled films enjoyed this one all the way through.

The movie was filmed on the French Island of Corsica, roughly the size of Jamaica, not small at all. This provided for great scenery.

The story centers on Sandrine Bonnaire as Hélène, diligently married with teenage daughter. They are solidly middle class, her husband works building boats, she works as a cleaning lady, in a local hotel and once a week for a man living alone in his country home.

The man is American expat, Kevin Kline as Kröger, who seems a bit gruff most of the time and would rather be left alone. We don't find out too much about him except that his wife has died, and he still wears his wedding band. Plus he has a nice chess set on a table in his home.

The story moves towards Sandrine Hélène's curiosity about the game of chess. She knows nothing about it, and sort of learns by using an inexpensive computer chess game given to her husband at his party. Very forthright she tells Kröger that she wants to play chess with him. So they set up 4PM on Tuesdays, he will give her an hour. But she stays up, sometimes all night until morning at home, trying to learn this game which fascinates her.

The game is chess, but the story is about a woman who has settled into a very joyless routine in life, taken for granted by her husband and daughter, and having no intellectual outlet for herself. She gains something through her interest in chess and becomes a different person, a happier person, for it.

SPOILERS: At first she is defeated quite easily by Kröger. She has no concept for the subtleties of the game and its strategy. So he softens up and teaches her, and soon he cannot beat her. She has a natural feel and talent for chess, he encourages her to participate in a high level amateur tournament, even though she did not belong to any club, had no ranking. But she defeats each opponent, and wins the tournament. This gives her fresh status in the community, more important gives her something of her own that she could enjoy. Maybe she (fictionally) eventually became an international chess champion!

I figured out the plot in the first 20-30 minutes.

The chess scenes are well done. At least we don't see the common goofs of having the board 90 degrees wrong (white on right), or the king and queen on the wrong squares (queen goes on its color). The mate in two problem is accurate. Kudos to the chess technical adviser.

Some pretty nice photography of the French (or is it Corsica?) countryside. Kevin Kline's character is well drawn. They could have developed the teenage daughter a little more.

All in all, a nice chess fairy tale, even though I found the film very predictable.

the premise is promising, the actors were great, the subject is deep. what could go wrong? well the script was at times either too much or predictable which turned me off. the characters were typical. when she had that argument with the Doctor, the scene is so random that it feels like they had to jeopardize the friendship right before the final act.

the beginning was deceitful. the way she learns how to play chest is unrealistic.

the outcome was deceitful. at the beginning, all the self-empowerment and self-fulfillement was all right, it's all inspiring until the main character decide to cheat her husband without guilt and consequences. just like that.

What is it that makes a film jump off the screen and into the confines of your consciousness, implanting itself there so that years later, when you watch it again, you realize you have been thinking about it in the interim, with pleasure. It has insinuated itself into the fabric of your life and you carry its memory around with you.

If film makers could work out how and why that happens, their investors would sleep more soundly at night

Queen to Play (Joueuse) is such a film.

Obviously its success is anchored in Sandrine Bonnaire's performance, but there is a lot more to it than that, wonderful as it is.

The writing. The direction. The cinematography. The other actors. Whatever...

The scripting is unfailingly delightful. It presents the initial impetus to investigate the game of chess - a beautiful, young woman playing the game with her lover, as the driving force that compels the protagonist to visit her husband at work just to touch him, to extricate her silky nightgown, to acquire an electronic chess game under the guise of giving her husband a birthday gift. It then documents the discovery of meaning and satisfaction in exploiting whatever it is that makes a person excel at some aspect of life, and the coincidental growth of desire by her husband to share that life spirit - the initial impetus for all the chess playing that follows.

I would say it is "nice" were it not for the devaluation of meaning of that word. Let's just call it an examination of compulsion, That's what the film is really all about. And Bonnaire's range of expressions and demeanors feed that camera with all the raw material it needs to hold us, the viewers, captive for the duration of the film. Compulsively so, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Actually there is more to it than that. There is that exultation of the human spirit that comes from the process of self actualization. It is a wonderful experience just to observe it up close and personal by watching this film.

Compulsiveness, Obsessiveness. They are not just the province of adolescent boys with computer games

Great film... Who knew Kevin Kline could speak French? This film reminded me a little of another one of my favorite films- namely "A Brief Vacation" because both films capture the loneliness of menial work and of not being understood by one's husband. In all fairness, in this movie, the husband tries, however.

The scenes of Corsica are intoxicating. The story addresses issues of class and gender. The story unfolds beautifully - even though some degree of willing suspension of disbelief is required. The film captures the chess world (male dominated, intimidating, turned inward) well although it is not credible that the protagonist could become so good playing against only one opponent and a mechanical chess set...

The film is ultimately quietly empowering. Bonnaire is a terrific actress. Watching her assimilate what she sees and make the chess moves of her life in an effort to achieve her dream is wonderful.

Thankfully, the film leaves many key questions for the viewer to contemplate after the final credits have rolled by. This film resonates and lingers.

Such a small, bland word.

Yet, if you have ever felt the slightest sense of wonder you know what a big feeling it is.

For her it's chess.

Trapped in a small life, struggling to find herself.

Enter reluctant master.

So many people are scarred by their dreams. Miserable, because the life they imagine is so much better than the life they have.

Takes courage to step into the unknown and more than a little desire.

Whether she has enough of both is what the movie is about.

The cast, crew and locale all come together to bring the story to life.

Not something one can recommend.

You will be moved by it or not.

Wish them well. Hope to see more from them.

Thank you.

Queen to Play is a very heart warming movie with moments that will have you wondering what's going to happen next. It's about a middle aged woman named Helene, who works as a traveling maid and sets her sights higher than most. You can tell she is fed up with her current job and needs something new in her life. While she is cleaning a house on her normal schedule, she sees the housekeeper (Kroger) playing cheese with a woman. There both laughing and enjoying their time, which is the spark of Helene's new found obsession with chess. She goes out of her way to buy her husband an electronic chess board to see if he will start playing with her, but in response he hates it. Finally Helene gets the urge to ask Kroger to teach her while she is cleaning his house. At first he is very skeptical to teach a french woman how to play chess, since he is an American. Kroger gives in and teaches Helene everything she needs to know to become the best their ever lived. Helene ends up joining a chess competition where her fate for the future of chess playing lies.

Director Caroline Bottaro does a great job on selecting the cast for this movie. She uses Helene played by Sandrine Bonnaire, in such a way it gives you the feeling that she keeps getting more and more obsessed with this game. Anywhere from moving bread crumbs at dinner for chess pieces to soap containers in the bathroom. Bonnaire gives off this real energy I feel like someone would have in real life if they were to discover something they had never seen or played before. Kroger played by Kevin Kline is also very well played out. Kevin Kline being on of my favorite older actors has done it yet once again in his very first French film. His French is also remarkable and very well understood. The both of these characters play so well off each other that I believe this is what makes the movie work. Caroline Bottaro is a very young director and still has a huge career ahead of her, I hope to see some good movies come from her soon.

The cinematography in this movie really does a great job on capturing love, suspense, and happy moments with close ups and very low angled shots. This adds to the movie more so than just having simple straight on wide angle shots. Notice just simple techniques used like this throughout the movie that makes it just that much better. The music is also something much needed in some parts of the film, even though its just chess, this movie gives off a suspenseful vibe. I highly recommend this movie for chess fanatics, but also people who are into love, drama, and overall feel good movies.