Searching for Bobby Fischer

Searching for Bobby Fischer was inspired by the life of chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin, as written by his father Fred Waitzkin. Josh (Max Pomeranc) is a "regular kid" who begins evincing signs of being a genius at chess. His father (Joe Mantegna) encourages this, hoping that it won't fundamentally ...more

An extraordinary examination of child genius and all that comes with it, this stirring first directorial effort by ace screenwriter Steven Zaillian succeeds by simply letting everything in the movie's compositions speak for itself. Chess would not initially appear to be the most cinematic of events, but Zaillian and masterful cinematographer Conrad L. Hall find an enticing visual means of representing not only the sport, but also the emotions of its richly drawn characters. Every time the film ...more