Computer Chess (2013)

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This low key mockumentary is so dry in it's humor that it's more likely to produce a nostalgic or rueful smile than a belly laugh. Set at a 1980s man vs. computer chess competition, and shot on what looks like a video camera from the time, it certainly succeeds in capturing a time, place and atmosphere. On the other hand, some of it starts to get a bit repetitive and meandering. Unlike Christopher Guest's hysterical mockumentaries, this is so close to 'real' for much of it's length that it started to wear down a bit. And then when it switches to a more 'over-the-top' tone, as when one of the young leads is hit on by a pair of middle- aged swingers, it suddenly feels like a scene from another film. None-the-less, this is an impressive accomplishment, using it's lack of budget as a plus to create the feel of a truly home made documentary of the time. It may not be brilliant, but it's sweet, inventive, and fun, which puts it well ahead of most of what's out there.

In this mock-documentary, the computer nerds meet the chess nerds (spoiler: They're about the same thing) in a black and white, cheesy hotel setting during the 70's. In the background, a purposeful primal therapy group works its spells and enchantments. One of the computer chess entrants is a sociopath that looks and speaks oddly like Chevy Chase, giving this movie unexpected authenticity. Another, the father of a chess buff, is one of those guys from the time that loved being the loudest guy in the room and loved asking the smartest persons in the room questions he couldn't answer. Along with these there is the 'Cal Tech team' and the 'MIT team' and a wicked science fiction plot that seems to be fizzling towards the end, just as the nascent sex life of one of the team members does also. Enjoy!

This film is a good idea, and a couple of the players do a reasonable job with the material. However, I found the whole program was most disappointing. Some care had been taken to use authentic looking computers from the period, but this effort was wasted. It really needed an experienced scriptwriter to check for continuity and irrelevant sections. On the print we saw in Melbourne, Australia, there was even a short section of colour which overlapped a part of the film and left a small hole in the "story". It seemed that they did not have enough material for a feature length film, so they introduced quite a few contrivances to stretch it out, but all they did was to add to the haphazard nature of proceedings. One major contrivance appeared to be used throughout the film so that the result of the final chess game was the one wanted by the writers. Very silly, and an artificial way to produce "surprises" in the story. I was also surprised to see that the Tribeca Film Festival was associated with this film.

Computer Chess may have an unconventional and experimental style, but its story is simple. It's very much like a Christopher Guest competition mockumentary setup with a similar satirical sense of humour and fortunately its exposition is welcome and well-handled. Its video and black and white cinematography feels more than a gimmick and places the film convincingly in the 80s. At least it makes better use of it than last year's disappointing No. Although it's intended as a character-based film, peering into the lives of the contestants rather than concerned with the competition itself, it's the area it struggles with most. It's difficult to keep track of characters and many feels like cartoons. But its themes still work. It makes you think about the progression of technology and its integration with society as well as what you should live for. It's more of a directors movie with hints of surrealism and meta scenes where the gimmick breaks the mold which results in making Computer Chess interesting, thoughtful and entertaining film but wildly inconsistent with the places where it doesn't know what it's doing.7/10