I don’t play Chess. I’ve never played Chess. I’m not sure why, I just never knew anyone willing to teach me. I’ve never really felt like I had this huge void in my life, until maybe now. I’m sure the feeling will go away after a few days.
There are so many different vantage points from which I could approach this film, but maybe I’ll stick with what I know. I have raised two awesome children and now I have the privilege of participating in the lives of my four amazing grandchildren. All four of them have vastly different personalities, strengths, weaknesses and yet the potential I see in each of them is unlimited. My kids still get a kick out of teasing me about how I used to tell them they could do and be whatever they chose. My son even reminds me occasionally that he was full grown before he realized he was not tall enough to dunk a basketball.
Back to Searching for Bobby Fischer…for those of you who do not know, Bobby Fischer was a world champion chess player who one day just walked away. Many said he was ultimately consumed with madness. Our film today was inspired by the life of chess prodigy, Josh Waitzkin and written by his father, Fred Waitzkin. Josh (Max Pomeranc) is just a typical American boy interested in baseball when one day he challenges his father (Joe Mantegna) at chess and wins. Showing unusual talent at the outdoor matches at Washington Square in New York City, he quickly makes friends with a hustler named Vinnie who teaches him speed chess. Josh’s parents hire a renowned chess coach, Bruce Pandolfini (Ben Kingsley) who teaches Josh the usefulness of measured planning. Along the way, Josh becomes tired of Bruce’s system and chess in general and throws a match, leaving the prospect of winning a national championship in serious jeopardy.
Chess is a lot like life. At one point Josh tells his father that he’s afraid of losing, “Maybe it’s better not to be the best, then you can lose and it’s okay.” His friend, Vinnie tells him you have to risk everything, always going to the edge of defeat. During one day of lessons, Bruce tells Josh you have to hate your opponents because they hate you. Josh’s mother, Bonnie (Joan Allen) throws Bruce out and he tells her to put a child in a position to care about winning and not prepare him in wrong. Hmmm, where is the balance?
Later in life, Josh Waitzkin went on to apply his focus in other areas besides chess, also becoming a champion in martial arts. A champion at whatever he chooses!
Everyone I asked about Searching for Bobby Fischer absolutely loved it! Great family movie, great moral values. I will just tell you up front: If you want to see this movie, you might as well go online and buy it. Shop around because it is priced all over the place. Netflix has it but it says ‘very long wait’ next to the title. I am going to leave it in my queue just to see how long, “very long” really is. One thing I can tell you is that it is worth whatever you have to do to get it. As always, I welcome your comments at Chastings@rockcliff.com
Leave a Reply