On a beautiful day in France, a young maid (Sandrine Bonnaire) views an intimate game of chess with a vacationing couple (Jennifer Beals, Dominic Gould) and with bonding results between the couple, this young maid is interested enough to take up the game unaware of the obsession shes about to have and the results it has of its own between her, her family and the people she works for in the process.
In Queen to Play, the pace stays comfortable and its unpredictability of the world of rook, knights, kings and queens is executed well thanks to a premise that delivers and a cast that give terrific performances led by both Bonnaire and Kevin Kline, who despite a quote in English devotes his performance in French as a doctor who the young maid cleans for and renews interest in life for the widower doctor through the chess game.
Through its gorgeous cinematography, it's more than just a good premise. It gives lessons that take its time to get there and choices that can be seen as both sacrifices and advancement but for first time director Caroline Bottaro. There is personal drama between the maid and her family, the tension mounts but the feeling of not giving up with your interest and love for something no matter what that gives the most satisfaction between this film and it ends with a quote that speaks truth and says a lot. With a great last shot that can be seen as a beautiful painting, Queen To Play sets the timer, makes the move and captures the interest without dragging or plodding. It moves, it feels and it makes for a satisfying viewing.
In the country of Russia, a robbery takes place, a police stakeout goes wrong and authority just got a swift kick in the behind on national television in Newsmakers, a remake of Johnnie To's Breaking News that provides gunplay and action but lacks in having a pulse to back up that action.
In an effort of the country to catch the robbers, one such PR person named Katya devises a plan to come up with a reality show that promises to search and destroy. What comes out is a lot of standing, a good amount of shouting and a shootout here and there with police struggling to get their dignity back in the face of the public eye.
It's easy to get lost in an effort such as this and usually films from other countries and subtitles are dependable enough that the least that can be asked for is just being good. Through this effort however it didn't feel so much as a remake of a Johnnie To film. Rather it felt like a bad remake of the Dustin Hoffman-John Travolta vehicle Mad City where drama and news tried to have an intense mix but fell flat not knowing what it wanted to be and as a result losing the viewer. This makes the same mistake as the film doesn't know whether it wants to be an action film or a news film with elements of action in between.
There are moments of violence around the corner but without any sense of danger or adrenaline and thats where the problems escalate. What's even worse is that the film is two hours and feels like it goes on for much longer than that so when the credits roll, relief finally surfaces for this viewer. In many cases the old saying goes if it ain't broke don't fix it, and Newsmakers is such a case that certain films despite an effort remains just an attempt and not a solid updating where even repeat viewing isn't enough to save this mess.
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