Movie

Checkmates

2024 · 98 min

A breezy, good-natured crowd-pleaser that turns an underdog classroom story into something warm and gently funny.

Overview: Candela, the headmistress of an elite school, after a traumatic divorce, returns to her old high school to lead a group of rebellious students through chess. There she will learn that in chess, and in life, it doesn't matter if you are a king or a pawn, because everyone ends up in the same box.

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How it feels

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Tone: warmstrength 2 of 3
upliftingstrength 2 of 3
lightstrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing: brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: easy-watch, 2 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: class
education
found family
redemption
identity
Places: school
big city
Era: contemporary
Audience: teen
Form: ensemble
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence none
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	0
Humour	6
Realism	7
Romance	2
Tension	3
Darkness	2
Complexity	3
Emotional weight	5

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Where to watch in the UK

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Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres: comedy
Directed by: Nacho G. Velilla
Written by: Marta Sánchez, Nacho G. Velilla, David S. Olivas
Starring: Alexandra Jiménez, María Adánez, Francesc Orella, Miguel Rellán, Alain Hernández, José Manuel Poga, Luis Callejo, Rocío Velayos
Music: Juanjo Javierre
Cinematography: Andreu Ortoll
Runtime: 98 min
Country: Spain
Languages: Spanish

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Checkmates

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