La partie d'échecs

Not being a chess player, when reading the comments I was not sure. Pierre Richard used to be one of my favorite actors in comedies. This is not a comedy, and Richard is not convincing as a preacher. But, let me reassure you, this movie is never boring, it's not about chess, it's about how far can you go in life in general. "This is a game that kills me" is often repeated and in this film it is true, although not literally, but there is much at stake. A mother (Catherine Deneuve) organizes a tournament in which money, a title and her daughter is the price. The daughter, Hilde Heynen, is perfectly casted and plays her role as in a Forster-movie. Without telling you the entire plot, through schemes, she plays check-mate against her mother. Nice locations, nice script with good switches, poor acting by Denis Lavant or poor direction(?). But Hilde Heynen is a revelation. She's the cunning part of this story and plays it all the way through. 8 points.