At the movies: The Queen of Katwe
Based on a true story, The Queen of Katwe is the heartwarming and touching story of a young Ugandan girl with a natural ability and the coach who believed in her and the other children who lived in the slums of Katwe.
Robert Katende had recently graduated from college with a degree in engineering. No engineering jobs were readily available, so he took a job as a soccer coach for a missionary program. He decided to teach the children how to play chess as well and discovered a natural talent in young Phiona Mutesi. Katende entered the children in tournaments, exposing them to a world they would never have known. Phiona does well and changes her life forever.
With its inspiring story and terrific acting, I found The Queen of Katwe to be uplifting and moving. Knowing it was based on a true story made it that much better. I did find some of the chess scenes to be a little long but loved it at the end when they joined the actors with the people they were playing. This movie is suitable for the whole family and should generate some good discussions. It’s out of theaters now but be sure to catch it when it hits streaming services.
This movie sounds so good! It does look uplifting and inspiring, which I love. And the actors – Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo – love them!! Glad you enjoyed the movie 🙂
I’ve been wanting to see this.
I agree. It was a 3.5/4 for me. And I thought the ending was very cool too.
I don’t think this one came to our theater….but it does look tempting. It might show up On Demand. Thanks for sharing.
It looks really good. I don’t know how long it has been since we went to the movies – I can’t even remember!!!
I have this book on my TBR list and I have wondered if the descriptions of the chess scenes in print will be too long for me.
Sounds intriguing!
Sounds interesting
Thanks for bringing this movie to my attention. It’s hard to find really good family movies these days. And my kids like chess.
Kathy, this sounds like my kind of movie. Terrific review!
I loved this movie. Such an amazing story and so heartwarming!
I’d love to see this with my granddaughters and get their feedback. Thanks for featuring this film. It’s on my list now.
I saw the trailer for this one a few months ago, and really want to see it. I am glad you liked it, Kathy!
I have this on my list of movies I want to see. I’m so glad that this is a good one.
This one is on my list, too–Walker went to see it at the theater in Columbus over his October break, and said that the chess in the movie is interesting, as if someone in on the making of the movie actually knows something about the game.
It seems to be quite a miraculous true story. I’d like to see it when it comes on pay-per-view. thanks for the review.
Oh, Jason and I missed this one at the theaters but since Jason is obsessed with chess and the few chess movies there are I know we’ll end up catching it at home.