peter henderson 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 nightQueen 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

Albrecht Gaub I largely agree with what others have said here. But there is one flaw that nobody seems to have noticed: not one game of chess in this movie ends with a draw. As everybody with some knowledge of the game is aware of, draws are the rule among advanced players of chess, so a tournament such as the one shown in the movie that works by elimination (quarterfinals, semifinals, final), with only one game between a pair of contestants, is simply not realistic. (The tie could be broken through a game of fast chess, but this is not shown either.) It goes without saying that the whole dramaturgy of the movie would be significantly altered by the sheer possibility of draws. To sum it up, I consider chess a poor choice for communicating the message of this movie. Choose a game that does not permit draws and the problem is solved--although then the somewhat heavy handed symbolism of the queen as the strongest piece would have to be sacrificed.

toast-15 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".

John Raymond Peterson 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.