Queen of katwe reviews movie#

NairвЂ™s direction collaborates with Sean BobbittвЂ™s cinematography to capture both congested metropolitan slums as well as the expansive, lush Ugandan countryside in which we see a panoply of darkly hued and beautifully complexioned people not from our Western world, but also not unlike us. Classic Storytelling and Unconventional Narratives Rather, the very Christ-like pattern of suffering, brokenness, and weakness mark the road that eventually leads to her emergence from abject poverty and obscurity into renown as a national hero and royal representative of her people. Nalwanga convincingly gives us a teenager caught in the formative years of life who establishes her figurative throne not by way of socially-acceptable physical beauty or by way of a handsome princeвЂ™s rescueвЂ¦ not even really because of her intelligence or keen moves on the chess board. Newcomer Madina Nalwanga delivers quietly, yet forcefully as Phiona Mutesi, the alluded-to queen of the impoverished Ugandan province, Katwe. Lupita NyongвЂ™o effectively executes the role of Nakku Harriet, the mother of the filmвЂ™s titular character and the atypical matriarch whose faith and sacrificial love for her family grow despite a continuous and seemingly endless string of misfortunes that begin when her husband and the father of her four children dies unexpectedly. William WheelerвЂ™s screenplay adequately displays KatendeвЂ™s internal moral struggle that eventuates in his rejection of an offer to undertake a successful engineering career to instead coach a team of social outcasts - i.e.

Here, we have the kind of creative and engaging expression of spirituality found in such recent works as 2015вЂ™s Selma and The Revenant and this yearвЂ™s Hail Ceasar!, Hell or High Water, and Birth of a Nation.Д«ased on true events as chronicled in the 2012 book Tim Crother published for ESPN, Katwe stars David Oyelowo as Robert Katende, a sports ministry leader who often opens chess matches with a word of prayer and employs culturally-significant parables as a means of motivating his players to persevere in the face of challenges both on and off the chess board. In veteran director Mira NairвЂ™s vision, we see strands of references to faith organically and quietly pervading the film without ever becoming overbearing or overt. It is an amazing story of real people, only lightly changed for film-making, well acted and compelling.DisneyвЂ™s Queen of Katwe remains within the tradition of unintentional Christian filmmaking that prefers subtle nuances and unspoken demonstrations of conviction over tired clichГ©s, recycled tropes, wooden characters, and soap-boxy platitudes positing overly simplistic answers to the complexities of life lived in a fallen world. That's why the whole thing is so satisfying.

Queen of katwe reviews movie#

His sacrifices, his wife's sacrifices and his challenges providing for his family as he tries to help the children of Katwe is a movie unto itself. The story of Phiona's coach is as inspiring as her story. The movie doesn't settle for a trophy as the outcome, focusing on the impacts on Phiona and her family along the way. Of course, Phiona's story as a chess prodigy from the slums of Katwe, Uganda is harrowing, inspiring and insightful. The actress who portrays her depicts her strength, and also her limitations with integrity. Particularly compelling is the story of Phiona's mother who lost her husband and struggles to provide for four children by selling cooked maize in the market. Here, wonderful actors depict real people struggling with the realities of their lives: single motherhood, overcoming poverty, feeling out of place, and the challenges of playing high level chess. Queen of Katwe goes far beyond the usual clichГ© movie: underdog overcomes adversity to win championship.