I really loved this movie about real-life Maori chess-phenom Genesis Potini. He was also bipolar. Chess was his only focus, the only thing that helped him organize his illness and his lufe. He devoted his life (he died in 2011) to introducing chess to the underprivileged mostly-Maori kids in his Maori community. With a GORGEOUS performance by character actor Cliff Curtis.
Your review made this movie sound so appealing, it’s been at the back of my mind to catch for what I discover now is a shockingly long time — anyway, tonight was the night as I spotted it on one of our local services. I enjoyed it so much and was quite moved at times — Curtis and Rollerston and Hapi make an incredible trio — and I don’t know if I would have known about it otherwise, so thank you!
Oh wow!! You remembered! I haven’t seen it since I reviewed it but I remember so much of it and being very moved by it. It’s one of my favorite “genres” – underdog/sports metaphor/competition/people doing stuff they had no idea they could do … I should re-watch. Thank you for reminding me!!