To be sure, these won’t be the most memorable roles of these two actors’ careers, but Oyelowo gives his saintly character a considerable amount of grace and humor, and Nyong’o adds a few nuances to Phiona’s overprotective mom. She also gets the most out of her mostly nonprofessional African cast, not to mention her two stars, Oyelowo and Nyong’o. In “Queen of Katwe,” the vehicle of choice is a rickety bus, which takes Phiona and her chess mates from the slums to the privileged grounds of an elite private school.Ĭhess is not the most visual of games, but Nair makes these competitions come alive. A Ugandan girl’s life changes forever when she discovers she has an amazing talent for chess, in this celebration of the human spirit.
#QUEEN OF KATWE STREAMING MOVIE#
One of the best set-pieces is reminiscent of “Hoop Dreams,” in which a young athlete was transported by train from inner-city Chicago to the well-manicured suburbs. Disney presents Queen of Katwe, a movie based on a vibrant true story starring Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo, and directed by Mira Nair. Her mother, Harriet (Nyong’o), is fiercely determined to take care of her family and works tirelessly selling vegetables in the market to make sure her children are fed and have a roof over their heads. Her mother, Harriet (Nyong’o), is fiercely determined to take care of her family and works tirelessly selling vegetables in the market to make sure. For 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi (Nalwanga) and her family, life in the impoverished slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle. We don’t feel sorry for these financially underprivileged folks - we root for them. Summary: For 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi (Nalwanga) and her family, life in the impoverished slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle. A Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess. Based on the book by Tim Crothers, Queen of Katwe is a biographical telling of a Ugandan girl from a slum in Katwe finds success with her skills in chess.Phiona Mutesi. Unlike her sister, Phiona is quiet and doesn’t attract the boys, but her transition from pawn to queen begins when she learns about chess at a missionary activity center run by do-gooder Robert ( David Oyelowo, solid).ĭirector Mira Nair (“Salaam Bombay”) has a field day with the colors of the costumes and the hardscrabble city landscapes, but she neither glorifies nor vilifies her canvas. With the ninth Queer Screen Film Festival streaming to your screens at home, we’ve pulled together a guide on what to see based on how you feel. With Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, Martin Kabanza. Phiona (Madina Nalwanga, lovely) is a seemingly unremarkable young girl who lives with her young mother (Lupita Nyong’o, decent in a thankless role) and siblings in the vast slum of Kampala, the Ugandan capital.