Review of Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) by Cris F — 21 Feb 2005

[i]Maybe it is better not to be the best then you can lose and it's OK.[/i] - Josh (chess child prodigy).

This is a great little sleeper of a film and a terrific pick for family viewing. For me two themes stood out in this film. First, is the strong relationship between the son and father. Film creators so often neglect this family dynamic. Fathers are typically depicted as the overly stern disciplinary or a simplistic placeholder or absent altogether. Here, we actually get to see a father as a fully fleshed out character caring for his son.

The second theme is this notion that winning is not everything. Winning is not what brings fulfillment to our lives. If being the best means sacrificing friends, family and happiness, is it really worth it? What builds character is not in the winning, but how the game is played. Without sportsmanship it is worthless. What inspires us, the winning or the sportsmanship displayed by our sport heroes? (Cheesy yes, but it still rings true).