THIS NEW “POV” documentary on a Brooklyn chess team makes its greatest impact when it shows how many of the real struggles take place off the chessboard.
Intermediate School 318 has over the years made itself into the world’s most unlikely magnet school for high-level chess players.
Despite serving an inner-city community where the poverty level among students runs about 75%, this middle school has won more than two dozen national chess championships.
Promising young chess players fight for a chance to attend IS 318, where “Brooklyn Castle” bemusedly notes that the chess geeks are the rock stars.
“Brooklyn Castle” gives plenty of attention to players like Rochelle, who’s on track to become the first African-American female chess master.
But the documentary also makes it clear Rochelle isn’t a monomaniacal robot, that she’s also a teenager who is thinking carefully about what she wants to do with her life.
She worries that if she immerses herself too deeply in chess, she may not also have the time to put herself on the path to become a lawyer.
On the other hand, a chess scholarship could be her best ticket to college.
Several of these strong human dramas unfold against the backdrop of the larger drama, which is the struggle of IS 318 — like all city schools — to keep its programs funded in tough economic times.
The budget crisis hits the school and the chess teams hard. You can’t win tournaments if you can’t travel to compete in them. If you stop competing, you're no longer atop the mountain.
“Brooklyn Castle” does a superb job of celebrating the triumph while reinforcing the relentless vigilance it requires from everyone involved.
dhinckley@nydailynews.com
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