The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Ambition earns the room.”
The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.
Back to trending 
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Drama · 1993
A seven-year-old chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
Movie details
Searching for Bobby Fischer
“Every journey begins with a single move.”
1993 Drama 1h 50m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.1 / 10
Community rating
A seven-year-old chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Searching for Bobby Fischer?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
What Maisie Knew
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Shine
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Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Drama · 2011
A year after his father's death, Oskar, a troubled young boy, discovers a mysterious key he believes was left for him by his father and embarks on a scavenger hunt to find the matching lock.
Synecdoche, New York
Drama · 2008
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
People Like Us
Drama · 2012
After flying home to L.A. for the funeral of his estranged record-producer father, a struggling man discovers that the will stipulates that he must deliver $150,000 in cash to a 30-year-old alcoholic sister he never knew existed, and her troubled 12-year-old son.
Champion
Drama · 1949
An unscrupulous boxer fights his way to the top, but eventually alienates all of the people who helped him on the way up.
A Family Man
Drama · 2016
Dane Jensen is a driven, Chicago-based headhunter, working at a cut-throat job placement firm. When his boss pits Dane against Lynn Vogel, Dane's equally driven but polar-opposite rival at the firm, in a battle for control over the company. When his young son is then given a harrowing diagnosis, Dane is suddenly pulled between achieving his professional dream and spending time with the family that needs him now more than ever.
Blue Jasmine
Drama · 2013
After experiencing a traumatic misfortune, Jasmine French, a wealthy woman from New York, moves to San Francisco to live with her foster sister Ginger and the firm purpose of getting a new life, but she will be haunted by anxiety and memories of the past.
tick, tick... BOOM!
Drama · 2021
On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.
The Company Men
Drama · 2010
Bobby Walker lives the proverbial American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and two co-workers jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and fathers.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Steven Zaillian
Written by
Steven Zaillian
Max Pomeranc
Josh Waitzkin
Joe Mantegna
Fred Waitzkin
Joan Allen
Bonnie Waitzkin
Ben Kingsley
Bruce Pandolfini
Laurence Fishburne
Vinnie
M
Michael Nirenberg
Jonathan Poe
Robert Stephens
Poe's Teacher
Court is in session
Put Searching for Bobby Fischer on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.