3rd Sunday Movie Review (No Spoilers)

Today's Movie Review: Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)

It is hard to believe that this film is thirty years old. If you will excuse the '90s cinematography, I think a true chess fan can appreciate the story. Take a look at the classic trailer below.

Searching for Bobby Fischer - Trailer

It is the story of child prodigy Joshua Waitzkin and his progress in the chess world. The one criticism I have about the film is the title. I feel like Joshua's name should be included because people who may not like Bobby might skip the movie because of the title. The concept is that Joshua played so well that his moves reminded the experts of a young Bobby, but I prefer to think of people as themselves and give them credit for their talents in their own right. Joshua is a remarkable chess player with the type of mind many aspiring chess players would dream of experiencing. My favorite element of the movie is the developing relationship between the lead character and his father. I think there are a lot of things to be gleaned as far as parenting skills when you are parenting a young genius. There are ways to encourage development in a healthy way, but there are also dangers of crushing a child's spirit. In this film, I think we finally see parents making some mistakes along the way but ultimately getting it right by following the lead of their child. See if you agree.

As always, when I watch a film based on a true story, I want to watch interviews with the real person. There are many videos I could have chosen about Joshua Waitzkin, but I selected the short one below just to whet your appetite to continue the search yourself to learn more about him.

Josh Waitzkin on "Searching for Bobby Fischer"

Have a restful Sunday!
Until next time,
Cheers!