"La Diagonale Du Fou" is notable as one of the only two Swiss films to ever take home the Academy Award for "Best Foreign Language Film". It is also notable as being one of only a handful of films about chess which, apparently, is not considered the most cinematic "sport", although with the right director it can be. Richard Dembo may not have been that director: his film is perfectly watchable, but not as exciting as it should / could have been. Unsurprisingly, the brightest moments involve the actual chess games; most of the other stuff (the wise old pro and the rebellious young upstart, the neglected wives, the Cold War tensions, etc.) we have seen before, in different surroundings. The little-known Alexandre Arbatt holds his own against the well-known Michel Piccoli; Leslie Caron receives third billing but is largely wasted; Liv Ullmann fares a little better. **1/2 out of 4.
Review of Dangerous Moves
