Fahim, The Little Chess Prince * * *

This film rocketed along in the first ten minutes as little Fahim and Dad do a runner from Dhaka. It's not really explained to us how they do it - or how they manage to get the money or a ticket to Paris, but they're on a plane before you know it.  The biggest challenge being a tuk-tuk driver who leaves them at the outer fence of the airport, rather than drop-off zone.

The story really commences when Fahim and his Dad land in Paris and have to confess that they don't have much of a plan other than to bring the rest of the famdamily over.  

Fahim gives the French players some curry.

But what they do have in Fahim is a killer chess player.  Already the under 12 champion of Bangladesh,  Dad wants to release him upon the unsuspecting French kiddies.  "Also please consider, the French might like to have him on their team?"  Dad suggests.

It's quite moving and funny at times. Dad never seems to learn more than "Bon Appetit", which he says to everything. But Fahim settles in well and learns French quickly.  More importantly he rapidly escalates his position as a chess player in the school for advanced child players run by a grumpy old man played by the ubiquitous Gerard Depardieu.

Just as challenging as the tactical game of chess is the tactical game of applying for immigration and the film puts a fair bit of emphasis on this as his poor father struggles to find work. In fact Fahim was in real danger of being kidnapped and held for ransom but it takes them a while to effectively convey this to the immigration authorities.

Fahim The Little Chess Prince, is another film from The French Film Festival.  It's a true story apparently, though somewhat sanitized, I'd say.