This is the surprise of the year.
Queen of Katwe concerns Phiona Mutesi, the chess prodigy from Uganda who overcomes impossible odds to achieve international fame. Of course it's also the Disney feel-good drama of the year, and as such it relishes in the sentimental wash that made Remember the Titans (2000) work. What's fabulous here, however, is that this isn't an Americanized version of someone else's story; this picture is wholly a product of its time and place, namely what one of the upper-class children calls the "ghetto" of Katwe.
Phiona (played with astounding power by young newcomer Madina Nalwanga) lives her daily life in constant struggle for survival with her family. One day, as a result of her curiosity and resourcefulness, she stumbles upon a small church chess team. Though at first concerned that this game will not be lucrative for her or her family to survive, its coach (David Oyelowo in his usual pitch-perfect style) immediately sees her promise and works with her to improve her skills and her situation. The obvious pushback comes from Phiona's mother Nakku, who seeks to keep her family together; Lupita Nyong'o is the lynchpin of the film, and her performance steals the camera. Between her oldest daughter choosing to leave, her family getting evicted, caring for a toddler, and the inevitable injuries that come from her children's youth, Nakku provides a much-needed image of motherhood without flaws. She is many things but first and foremost she is love incarnate, and that is not exactly a common trope these days.
In fact, Nakku's character also reflects the nature of the film in that it is a much-needed breeze of cool air in an otherwise heated climate. First, the film features uncommonly excellent production design. Director Mira Nair and her team have fashioned an environment so believable, it's hard to remember it's a set at all. The richly detailed world of the Katwe marketplace is so immersive, I felt I could smell it, reach out and touch it. In our culture of high-action visual nightmares of computer-generated alien civilizations, it's nice to see a mainstream movie with none of that. Second, and far more important, our American audience is experiencing a lack of common-good-ness, and an abundance of leaders who are questionable at best and blatantly manipulative and divisive. Queen of Katwe provides an alternative, a story literally filled with characters who do nothing but care for each other, who reach beyond their situation and empower the unlikeliest among them, and who encourage and help each other with no thought of reward or even recognition.
It may not be the most original movie ever made, but it might be one of the best at what it does. And it couldn't have come at a better time.
IMDb: Queen of Katwe
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