Queen to Play (2009)
"Joueuse" (original title)

Middle-aged chambermaid Hélène's newfound obsession with the game of chess leads her to seek the tutelage of a reclusive American expat, transforming both of their ho-hum lives in the ... See full summary »

Director:

Caroline Bottaro

Writers:

Caroline Bottaro, Bertina Henrichs (novel)

Stars:

Sandrine Bonnaire, Kevin Kline, Valérie Lagrange

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sandrine Bonnaire	...	Hélène
Kevin Kline	...	Kröger
Valérie Lagrange	...	Maria
Francis Renaud	...	Ange
Alexandra Gentil	...	Lisa
Alice Pol	...	Natalia
Didier Ferrari	...	Jacky
Laurence Colussi	...	Pina
Élisabeth Vitali	...	Marie-Jeanne
Daniel Martin	...	Le président du club d'échecs
Dominic Gould	...	L'Américain
Jennifer Beals	...	L'Américaine
Valérie Tréjean	...	L'infirmière
François Orsoni	...	Le journaliste
Christine Ambrosini	...	La femme de l'autocar

Storyline

Middle-aged chambermaid Hélène's newfound obsession with the game of chess leads her to seek the tutelage of a reclusive American expat, transforming both of their ho-hum lives in the process.

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Plot Keywords:

chess | chambermaid | birthday | corsica | bus | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Studio Canal [fr]

Country:

France Germany

Language:

French English

Release Date:

1 April 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Queen to Play

Filming Locations:

Corsica, France

Box Office

Budget:

€5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$28,092 (USA) (1 April 2011)

Gross:

$478,572 (USA) (26 August 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mon Voisin Productions, Blueprint Film, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 100 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The first chess game between Hélène and Kröger is not logically possible. The opening three moves are those of a conventional Scotch Game. Then, between White's fourth move and Black's fourth move, the pieces rearrange themselves on the board, allowing Black to checkmate White.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Conan the Barbarian (2011)

User Reviews

chess-key

a game. refuge, ladder, clothe. a woman. and her sense. an isle, gray family and meeting. a victory. slices of a friendship. Sandrine Bonnaire and Kevin Kline in a charming movie.a fake tale about chess. strange love story with nuances of fairy tale. or only exercise to define importance of heart for a shadow. not a great film but one like a Chopin fragment. puzzle of small and not important pieces. few drops of sentimental perfume and crumbs of ordinaries lives. some drawing of feminism and work of good cast. a movie about nothing as many others. but just emotions, fragments of images, dust of memories are important. this is chess lesson. a long and tense chess match and look of a woman as fruit of desire of a passing ghost.