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QUEEN TO PLAY
(French OT: JOUEUSE)
A film by Caroline Bottaro, France/Germany 2008, 96 min.
Synopsis
Hélène, an inquisitive hotel maid in beautiful Corsica, France, becomes entranced by a vacationing couple as they play chess
on the balcony of the Hotel Les Roches Rouges. Tired of her humdrum existence,
she quickly cultivates her curiosity for the game into an obsession.
Her working-class husband Ange doesn't share her fascination with the game,
so she employs the help of the American expat and retired Doctor Kroger whose
house she cleans a few times a week. As her passion for the game increases, her natural
talent and hard work (done mostly in secret) lead her to a chance at a championship and a new shot at life.
Cast
Hélène: Sandrine Bonnaire
Dr. Kroger: Kevin Kline
Ange: Francis Renaud
American Woman: Jennifer Beals
Lisa: Alexandra Gentil
Maria: Valérie Lagrange
Crew
Directed by: Caroline Bottaro
Screenplay: Caroline Bottaro in association with Caroline Maly and Jeanne Le Guillou based on the novel „The Chess Player“ by Bertina Henrichs
Director of Photography: Jean-Claude Larrieu
Sound: Erwan Kerzanet
Production Design: Emmanuel de Chauvigny
Editing: Tina Baz
Original Score: Nicola Piovani
Line Producer: Jean-Philippe Laroche
Producers: Dominique Besnehard, Michel Feller, Amelie Latscha
A German (Blueprint Film)/French (Mon Voisin Productions) production in co-production with Studio Canal and France 2
Cinéma. With the participation of Canal +, France 2, Canal + Horizons, Cinécinéma, Tele München.
Supported by Eurimages, CNC, La Collectivité Territoriale de Corse, FFA (German-French Treaty/Minitraité).
Sales agent
Studio Canal
www.studiocanal.com
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Theatrical Release
France: 5th August 2009 distributed by Studio Canal
www.joueuse-lefilm.com
Germany: 7th January 2010 distributed by Concorde Filmverleih
www.concorde-film.de
Austria: 7th Mai 2010
USA: 1st April 2011 distributed by Zeitgeist Films
www.zeitgeistfilms.com
DVD Release
Germany: July 8, 2010
Festivals (selection)
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2010 (Special Mention for John Schlesinger Award for Outstanding First Feature)
Tribeca Film Festival, New York 2009 (World Premiere)
COLCOA Film Festival, Los Angeles 2009
French Film Festival, Tübingen 2009 (Opening Film)
French Film Festival, Leipzig 2009 (Opening Film)
French Film Festival, Prague 2009
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Press
„…[Sandrine Bonnaire’s] slow transformation – from hard-working wife and mother to fey
creature of complex strategies and secret smiles – proves riveting, for both the audience and her fictional mentor (Kevin Kline).
[The film] posits a radically different approach to class and gender empowerment. (…)”
Variety
“[The film] boasts an admirable dramatic subtlety and several strong performances. (…) Bonnaire
delivers a beautifully modulated turn, delineating Hélène’s liberating transformation in quietly powerful and convincing
fashion. Kline, in its first entirely French-speaking role, intriguingly underplays as the mysterious Kröger (…) ”
The Hollywood Reporter
“ Caroline Bottaro’s tangy comic bonbon, ’Queen to Play’ plucks the game
of chess out of the metaphorical realm of spy thrillers and reimagines it as a fable about relationships and upward mobility.
Adapted from Bertina Henrichs’s novel ’The Chess Player’ this slight but captivating
movie compares the strategies of chess to the erotic maneuvers in a flirtatious pas de deux that may be more
satisfying than actual sex. ”
The New York Times
„…an intelligent, heartfelt and deeply satisfying film (…)
An actress of exceptional presence with a magical smile and the ability to look both beautiful and ordinary,
Bonnaire runs through a wide range of emotions and makes us believe them all. Her face is the film’s go-to image,
and we never tire of it. ”
LA Times
“ ’Queen to Play’ is quiet but affecting, a film that uses a well-worn metaphor to find new and profound feelings. ”
Huffington Post
“ The royal art of mien game. Sandrine Bonnaire’s performance
- you could call it face enchantment.”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
“ "...a king’s gambit, erotic and royal like in a Lubitsch movie
(…) Sandrine Bonnaire as Hélène is adorable.”
Sueddeutsche Zeitung
“ This lady can play anything. ’Queen to Play’ is a movie for
and with Sandrine Bonnaire. ”
Berliner Zeitung
“ When Sandrine Bonnaire and Kevin Kline are duelling at
the chessboard you can feel the erotic tension.”
Muenchner Abendzeitung
“ After watching the movie you will take out your
chessboard again at home. ”
Tagesspiegel Berlin
“ A particularly compelling intimate play in the mild
light of the South. ”
Kronenzeitung
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