Review of Queen of Katwe (2016) by Greg C — 30 Sep 2016

A tenant worthy of thought is that when we gain creature comforts, we lose some of the strength of character associated with the struggle and hardship. Based on recent true events, Queen of Katwe guides us through the evolution of a girl from a Ugandan slum district who is discovered to be a chess prodigy.

If you have ever seen a movie with underprivileged kids who become champions in a sport, you know the layout and beats of this movie. What is amazing is that we are seeing a motion picture which was filmed in Uganda at all.

It helps to have Disney money. But that does not diminish that this is indeed a quality independent style movie. We see strong character in the mother played by Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave). We see steady fatherly guidance from a coach played by David Oyelowo (Selma).

And both these performance are outshined by the breakout of new actress Madina Nalwanga 's lead performance. She is shy, vulnerable and yet rarely does her character back away. It is not a typical heroine.

It does not feel like a Hollywood movie. There is no villain per se. There are nits to pick, but they don't matter much. My audience applauded at the top of the credit role, which is always remarkable, because we know that none of the filmmakers are actually in the room or will ever know that we applauded them.

I find it refreshing to see this wholly non-American story. There is certain to be Oscar buzz for this one due to Mira Nair's overall directorial hand in something that feels raw and unvarnished. Thanks should be given for the reminder of humility that is found in not forgetting the struggle.