Queen to Play
| Queen to Play | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Caroline Bottaro |
| Produced by |
Dominique Besnehard Michel Feller Jean-Philippe Laroche Amelie Latscha |
| Screenplay by | Caroline Bottaro |
| Based on |
La Joueuse d’échecs by Bertina Henrichs |
| Starring |
Sandrine Bonnaire Kevin Kline Valérie Lagrange |
| Music by | Nicola Piovani |
| Cinematography | Jean-Claude Larrieu |
| Edited by | Tina Baz |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Zeitgeist Films (United States) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Queen to Play (original title Joueuse, literally the feminine form of “player”) is a 2009 French-German film directed by Caroline Bottaro. The film is distributed in the U.S. by Zeitgeist Films.
Synopsis
The film stars Sandrine Bonnaire as a French chambermaid on the island of Corsica. She develops an interest in chess. She has been cleaning the house of an American doctor (played by Kevin Kline in his first French-speaking role), and he begins helping her practice and improve. She must deal with her growing fascination with the game and with her husband and teenaged daughter.
Cast
- Sandrine Bonnaire as Hélène
- Kevin Kline as Kröger
- Valérie Lagrange as Maria
- Francis Renaud as Ange
- Alexandra Gentil as Lisa
- Alice Pol as Natalia
- Didier Ferrari as Jacky
- Laurence Colussi as Pina
- Élisabeth Vitali as Marie-Jeanne
- Daniel Martin as The President of the Chess Club
- Dominic Gould as L'Américain
- Jennifer Beals as L'Américaine
Awards
- 2010: Special Mention for John Schlesinger Award for Outstanding First Feature Palm Springs International Film Festival
- 2009: Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival
Release
The film had its world premiere on April 25, 2009 in both New York City and Los Angeles, at the Tribeca Film Festival [1] and the ColCoa Film Festival [2] respectively. The film had a national release in France on August 5, 2009 and was set for release in Germany on January 7, 2010.
The film was released in the United States beginning April 1, 2011.
Cunningham Defence
At the end of the film Hélène starts a game without a board with Kroger the moves given are a variation of King's Gambit Accepted (KGA) opening featuring the first 10 moves: 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Nc3 Bh4+ 5.Ke2 d5 6.Nxd5 Nf6 7.Nxf6+ Qxf6 8.d4 Bg4 9.Qd2 Nc6 10.c3 0-0-0