COMPUTER CHESS

COMPUTER CHESS Review

By Darin Skaggs

     When Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess begins I wouldn’t be surprised that many would think it is a documentary from the 1980’s.  The film starts so naturalistically that it feels real.  There are nice touches in where people stumble with their words, things don’t go quiet as planned.  Also it is filmed in black and white.  It actually goes on like that for a good while.  Then out of nowhere things get weird.  It is so jarring that you don’t necessarily understand what’s happening.

     The film begins as a competition between human players and early computer chess players built by the stereotypical nerdy type.  Like I said it goes on like that for a while.  One of the computers is messing up and those people are up all night working the bugs out.  After a while the variety of characters gets into very strange adventures.

     The film is set in the 80’s but there are a lot of hints to where technology and the “nerd” type are heading for the future.  At one point two computers face off in a game and one of the computers seem to have a mind of its own, much like Smartphones or characters in video games.  The character that has the most trouble in the film is the least “nerdy” looking and sounding.  He goes off to be with his mom and has one of the crazier storylines.  The nerdiest character ironically gets the girl and is the only way to form a relationship.

     The film slowly gets weirder and weirder.  It might turn off some viewers but if you stick with it you’ll will surly enjoy your time watching the film.  It is a movie that is filled with unknown actors which does make it feel more like it’s really happening.  It has a lot to say about technology today and how it has gotten out of hand.