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Queen of Katwe

Queen of Katwe

Drama · 2016

A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.

Movie details

Queen of Katwe

“In chess, the small one can become the big one.”

2016 Drama 2h 4m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.4 / 10

19.8K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

94 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

73 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.

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 Queen of Katwe?

The 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.

Fatima

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A seven-year-old chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.

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Desert Flower

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Mira Nair

Written by

William Wheeler

M

Madina Nalwanga

Phiona Mutesi

David Oyelowo

David Oyelowo

Robert Katende

Lupita Nyong'o

Lupita Nyong'o

Nakku Harriet

M

Martin Kabanza

Mugabi Brian

T

Taryn "Kay" Kyaze

Margaret Night Nantongo

E

Esther Tebandeke

Sarah Katende

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine

Tendo

Court is in session

Put Queen of Katwe on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

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.

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.