QUEEN TO PLAY (JOUEUSE)
A FILM BY CAROLINE BOTTAROFR/DE 2008, 96 MIN
Hélène (Sandrine Bonnaire), © Patrick Glaise
Hélène (Sandrine Bonnaire) and Dr. Kröger (Kevin Kline), © Patrick Glaise
Hélène (Sandrine Bonnaire) and Dr. Kröger (Kevin Kline), © Patrick Glaise
Hélène (Sandrine Bonnaire) on the terrace of the Hotel Les Roches Rouges, © Patrick Glaise
Hélène (Sandrine Bonnaire) with her daughter Lisa (Alexandra Gentil), © Patrick Glaise
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 AND CREW
Hélène: Sandrine Bonnaire
Dr. Kröger: Kevin Kline
Ange: Francis Renaud
American Woman: Jennifer Beals
Lisa: Alexandra Gentil
Maria: Valérie Lagrange
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Screenplay: Caroline Bottaro in collaboration 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)
Theatrical Release: France: 5th August 2009 distributed by Studio Canal; Germany: 7th January 2010 distributed by Concorde Filmverleih, www.concorde-film.de; Austria 7th May 2010; USA, 1. April 2011 distributed by Zeitgeist Films, www.zeitgeistfilms.com
DVD Release: Germany Juli 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
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
“…[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
“ 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