Directed by:
Marleen GorrisScreenplay:
Peter BerryCinematography:
Bernard LuticComposer:
Alexandre DesplatCast:
John Turturro, Emily Watson, Geraldine James, Stuart Wilson, Peter Blythe, Orla Brady, Christopher Thompson, Mark Tandy, Luigi Petrucci, Fabio Sartor (more)Plots(1)
The story is set in the 1920s and tells of the shy and taciturn chess genius Alexander Luzhin who arrives in Italy to play the most important game of his life. During a childhood marked by the separation of his parents, chess was his only passion, his refuge and whole universe. One day the young Russian aristocrat Natalia enters Luzhin’s life; Natalia’s parents are set on finding an advantageous match for her. Her mother has already selected a candidate in the wealthy Count Jean de Stassard who is evidently attracted to Natalia. The latter’s encounter with the eccentric Luzhin, however, changes everything. The urbane Stassard offers her romantic boat trips and spiritless superficial conversation. Luzhin’s impulsive behaviour is hardly romantic but Natalia is overwhelmed by his genius. With Natalia’s arrival, Luzhin discovers a completely new and unfamiliar world, a world far removed from his chess obsession. But it is also a world Luzhin is unprepared for, and its collision with his life thusfar, consisting solely of chess games, can only end in tragedy. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
(more)Cast
John Turturro
USA
Best movies:
The Night Of (2016) (series)
Raging Bull (1980)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Emily Watson
UK
Best movies:
Chernobyl (2019) (series)
Corpse Bride (2005)
Breaking the Waves (1996)
Geraldine James
UK
Best movies:
Gandhi (1982)
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989) (series)
Stuart Wilson
UK
Best movies:
The Rock (1996)
Enemy of the State (1998)
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
Peter Blythe
UK
Best movies:
I.D. (1995)
Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989) (series)
Foyle's War (2002) (series)
Orla Brady
Ireland
Best movies:
Wallander (2008) (series)
Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989) (series)
The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns (1999) (TV movie)
Christopher Thompson
USA
Best movies:
The French Revolution (1989) (TV movie)
Les Misérables (2000) (series)
Total Eclipse (1995)
Mark Tandy
Ireland
Best movies:
The Hollow Crown (2012) (series)
Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989) (series)
Shackleton (2002) (TV movie)
Luigi Petrucci
Italy
Best movies:
The Luzhin Defence (2000)
Ho voglia di te (2007)
Mollo tutto (1995)
Fabio Sartor
Italy
Best movies:
Bakhita (2009) (TV movie)
The Belly of an Architect (1987)
The Luzhin Defence (2000)
Kelly Hunter
UK
Best movies:
Prime Suspect 3 (1993) (TV movie)
Perfect Strangers (2001) (series)
Les Misérables (1998)
Massimo Sarchielli
Italy
Best movies:
Two Women (1988) (TV movie)
Il papa buono (2003) (TV movie)
The Conformist (1970)
Carlo Greco
Best movies:
The Luzhin Defence (2000)
Solo per amore (2015) (series)
La stagione dei delitti (2004) (series)