Computer Chess
Starring: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, Gordon Kindlmann
Director: Andrew Bujalski
Rating: 3/5
Computer Chess debuted earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, and now the BFI London Film Festival will re-introduce us to independent filmmaker Andrew Bujalski.
Bujalski has been behind films such as Funny Ha Ha, but Computer Chess is his first movie since Beeswax back in 2009.
Set over the course of a weekend tournament for chess software programmers thirty-some years ago, Computer Chess transports viewers to a nostalgic moment when the contest between technology and the human spirit seemed a little more up for grabs.
We get to know the eccentric geniuses possessed of the vision to teach a metal box to defeat man, literally, at his own game, laying the groundwork for artificial intelligence as we know it and will come to know it in the future.
Computer Chess presents itself almost as a documentary film as Bujalski gives you the feeling that you are sneaking a peak at this fascinating world - there is also a found footage feel to the film.
You don't have to have an knowledge or interest in chess to enjoy this movie: it is not so much about the game itself but the slightly eccentric people who attempt to push the game and competition forward.
It would have been so easy to depict these characters as a little 'nerdy' as we so often see, but instead Bujalski has done something quite different.
He shows them as intelligent and knowledgeable characters who have a real passion for what they: I have to say, that is a breath of fresh air.
Computer Chess is a very funny movie as you get to see the eccentricities, anxieties and ambitions of all of these truly fascinating characters.
These are not characters that we get to know well or are fully developed: but because this is presented in a found footage way that does actually work incredible well.
Shooting in black and white makes the movie look fantastic, and you can see that it has been loving crafted and put together with great care.
Computer Chess is a movie that will not be for everyone, but it really is a very enjoyable and funny watch.
The BFI London Film Festival runs 9th - 20th October.
Tagged in BFI