Emotional dilemmas in "Searching for Bobby Fischer"

This past week I found the film Searching for Bobby Fischer on my sister's movie shelf, and being in the mood for a new film, I popped it in and watched. The tale is a beautiful one if you've never seen it. It tells the story of Josh Waitzkin, who found he had an intense interest in and talent for chess. He starts off playing speed chess in Washington Square in New York City, and eventually is given professional instruction by a curious man with a slight accent named Bruce Pandolfini. The two characters exhibit a somewhat tensionful relationship, especially toward the middle of the film when Mr. Pandolfini attempts to cultivate a win-at-any-cost attitude in young Mr. Waitzkin, who throughout the film exhibits an innocent, kindly manner, even to those who would do anything to defeat him in the game. Throughout the film, young Mr. Waitzkin runs into this attitude not only among his opponents and teacher, but also among other adult role models, including his father.

The film becomes a dialogue on a number of emotional levels, showcasing the sometimes tortured course that the emotional intellect must navigate. Balancing the desire to win with the desire to live a normal life comes to the fore when young Mr. Waitzkin is moved to a private school where chess is taught, and when Mr. Pandolfini, his teacher, demands that he no longer play speed chess in the park, even though he very much enjoys it. Both changes appear to take a toll on Josh, and sets up a most unwholesome dilemma; live disingenuously and thereby maintain one's father's and teacher's love, or live one's values and thereby lose that love. All the while the fear exists for young Mr. Waitzkin that even if he does all that his father and teacher ask, he still might not prevail over the local rival being groomed to defeat him. Such is the case, both the father and the teacher see the danger of their ways by the end of the film, and defuse the terrible dilemma which their actions, no doubt unintentionally, fostered. Returning to speed chess, Young Mr. Waitzkin again comes to like playing, and embraces the creative play that originally made him a champion (a common theme throughout the film centers on the debate on whether to bring one's queen out early in the game or later, which I interpretted as an indirect way of discussing creative play vs. purely defensive play, such as you see in Futbol). In the film, the young Mr. Waitzkin prevails over his rival, who had embraced the win-at-any-cost attitude, and becomes a champion.

The story is a beautiful one, and the film has much else to lend itself to one's interest. Give it a look if you're interested :).