FILM SYNOPSIS:

Sandrine Bonnaire and Kevin Kline (in his first French-speaking role) shine in this sophisticated feel-good comedy set in idyllic Corsica. Middle-aged chambermaid Hélène's newfound obsession with the game of chess leads her to seek the tutelage of a reclusive American expat, transforming both of their ho-hum lives in the process. Hélène’s slow transformation -- from hard-working wife and mother to fey creature of complex strategies and secret smiles -- proves riveting, for both the audience and her fictional mentor.

Variety quotes: “Though her script stresses social repression, Bottaro directs "Queen" like an oddball romantic comedy, with chess as a benign form of sex-tinged interchange, romantically exploiting the lush Corsican landscape, with its winding corniches and mountainous seaside vistas, as a measure of the vast potential opening before Helene”

DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY:

Caroline Bottaro lives in Paris, France. In 1995 she wrote and directed the short film La Mère, starring Nathalie Baye. Bottaro wrote several films directed by Jean-Pierre Améris: Le Bateau de mariage(1993), Les Aveux de l'innocent (1996), La Fille préférée (2000), andC'est la vie (2001). Queen to Play is her first feature film.