Without an ounce of the kind of poverty porn cheap sentimentality that has come to define contemporary American cinematic takes on third world struggles, Queen of Katwe is a triumphant piece of mainstream filmmaking.
From the true story chronicled in an ESPN Magazine in 2012, Katwe centers on the rise from poverty of local Ugandan girl Phiona (newcomer Madina Nalwanga) once she joins a local chess class and goes on to compete in global tournaments. The story becomes close to a three-hander, expanding its sights to Fiona’s hardened and skeptical mother Nakku Harriet (Lupita Nyong’o) and her sacrificing teacher Robert Katende (David Oyelowo). Phiona is the film’s center but the expanded point of views extrapolate on the Ugandan setting, broadening the scope beyond her experience through a focus on character.
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