Movie

Chess Story

2021 · 110 min

A claustrophobic, cerebral descent into obsession, where psychological torment and chess become a fight for sanity.

Tagline: He turned resistance into a game.
Overview: 1938. While the Nazi troops march into Vienna, the lawyer Josef Bartok hastily tries to escape to the USA with his wife but is arrested by the Gestapo. Bartok remains steadfast and refuses to cooperate with the Gestapo that requires confidential information from him. Thrown into solitary confinement, Bartok is psychologically tormented for months and begins to weaken. However, when he steals an old book about chess it sets him on course to overcome the mental suffering inflicted upon him, until it becomes a dangerous obsession.
How it feels: Tense, dark, bleak and melancholic. Slow-burning and demanding.
About: Isolation, obsession, survival, power
Content: Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: tensestrength 3 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
bleakstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: isolation
obsession
survival
power
madness
Places: big city
prison
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: single location
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild