France / Germany 2009
Language: German
Genre: Drama
Director: Caroline Bottaro
Cinematographer: Jean-Claude Larrieu
Script: Caroline Bottaro nach Bertina Henrichs
Editor: Tina Baz
Cast: Sandrine Bonnaire, Kevin Kline, Francis Renaud
Producer: Dominique Besnehard, Michel Feller
Production Company: Mon Voisin Productions
Music: Nicola Piovani
Sound: Erwan Kerzanet
Distributor: Concorde Filmverleih GmbH
Lenght: 97 Min.
Format: DVD
Color: Farbe
Age Limit: <

Picture by Patrick Glaize. Hélène’s life is defined by routines. She works as a maid in a hotel on Corsica, her husband is a port worker. The money is never enough and defines a homogenous daily life. But everything changes when Hélène discovers a chess board – where the queen is the most powerful piece. Doctor Kröger, a hermit for whom she works, sees a hidden talent sleeping within Hélène. One could think Bonnaire’s own life mirrored in Hélène: the working-class girl from a large family with a chance of a wondrous ascent. Epd Film declares: ‘Sandrine Bonnaire ennobles this small film, which could be a chamber play, with her unintrusive power.’