It’s clear from the outset that ‘Queen of Katwe’ will be inspirational

Stories don’t get much more inspirational than the one told in “Queen of Katwe.”

A girl from one of the poorest slums in all of Uganda learns to play chess, and against all odds, becomes a champion. It has the arc of a fable but enjoys the added benefit of being true.

Phiona Mutesi was a 10-year-old country girl selling corn on the streets of Katwe, Uganda in 2007, when she happened upon a makeshift classroom of other impoverished kids who were all sharing cups of free porridge and playing this strange game called chess.

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Phiona may have been illiterate, and may have bad hygiene (all the kids mock her bad smell), but she has a certain knack for chess.
And throughout her young life’s ups and down, and her life is fraught with ups and downs, Phiona uses the lessons of chess as life lessons.

It should come as no surprise that Disney snapped up her life story, nor that ESPN, a subsidiary of Disney, also had a hand in the film because this is both a great sports story of sorts and an ideal family film. Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o stars as Phiona’s skeptical mother. Oscar nominee David Oyelowo (MLK in “Selma”) plays her chess teacher and father figure. But the real star of the show is newcomer Madina Nalwanga who shines along with the rest of the non-professional cast of kids.

Veteran director Mira Nair, who long ago made a film about poor children in her native India called “Salaam Bombay!” finds plenty of eye-popping color and vibrancy on the muddy streets of Katwe. Rather than a condescending Sally Struthers-like commercial that sees only pitiable conditions, the “Queen of Katwe” recognizes a pride of place and a sense of community among its beleaguered inhabitants. They may be living under the crush of poverty, but that hasn’t crushed their spirit. In fact, it may very well spur them on.

In one of the many “lessons” the chess coach teaches his charges, the kids hear a fable about why the dog never catches the cat. The dog is only running for a meal, coach explains, but the cat is running for its life. The kids of Katwe are playing chess for their lives. Now that’s motivation.

Admittedly, the movie is bound by the conventions of its genre and that brings with it a certain predictability. It’s clear from the outset that this is going to be an inspirational tale, so no matter how many setbacks Phiona faces, and she faces plenty of them, we know she’ll eventually overcome them. And inevitably, the roughest edges of life have to be smoothed over in order to get on with the moral of the story.

But there’s enough vitality and earnestness in the acting, especially among the chess-playing kids, that you don’t mind being swept along to the story’s inevitable conclusion. And to underscore the film’s general authenticity, the end credits incorporate each actor standing next to the real person that actor impersonated. It’s the perfect way to remind us that this fable is more real than not.