Film Review
Richard Dembo's
La Diagonale du
fou (1984) proves that chess and cinema are not mutually exclusive
and can work together to make an enticing film with considerable public appeal.
Elodie Namer's
Le Tournoi proves the exact opposite, a trashy teen
movie that uses a chess tournament merely as an easy gimmick to try and set
it apart from all the other trashy teen movies that cinema audiences have
had to endure in recent years. Before she made this, her debut feature,
Namer pursued a career in French television, which included a stint on
Loft
Story, the French equivalent of
Big Brother, a reality show in
which sad and seriously mal-adjusted members of the public make pathetic
attempts to become famous by disgracefully ill-treating all of their fellow
contestants.
At times,
Le Tournoi can hardly help looking like a self-consciously
sexed-up teen edition of
Loft Story, albeit with far less sustained
creative flair and considerably less in the way of a coherent narrative.
The charismatic Michelangelo Passaniti shows some promise in the lead role
but as his chess-obsessed character is little more than a two-dimensional
archetype of the nauseating super-brat variety his efforts are grimly wasted.
The same goes for his supporting artistes, Lou de Laâge, Magne-Håvard
Brekke and Adam Corbier - all capable performers, all sacrificed to the cause
of mediocrity.
For those who like their teen movies to be well marinated in a bountiful
quantity of raw cliché and tacky vulgarity, offering next to nothing
in the way of characterisation or genuine human interest, then Namer's juvenile
pop assault on the game of chess certainly delivers. Crass and formulaic
to a fault, with characters that are as charmless as they are shallow,
Le
Tournoi is more difficult to sit through than an amateur chess tournament
played in slow motion. Its author's misguided attempts to bring mainstream
appeal to an arcane discipline by resorting to the most abject of devices
backfire spectacularly.
© James Travers 2015
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
A seven day chess tournament is under way at a luxury hotel in Budapest.
The favourite to win is Cal Fournier, the 22-year-old French champion who
smashes his opponents with a prodigious power. An immature genius,
Cal is totally disconnected from the world around him. When he is not
absorbed in playing chess, he amuses himself in the cruel games he plays
with his girlfriend Lou and friends Aurélien, Anthony and Mathieu.
His familiar routine is about to be thrown into turmoil by a most unexpected
adversary, a nine-year-old Hungarian prodigy who threatens to rob him of
his hard-won title...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.