Brooklyn Castle

Critics Consensus

Brooklyn Castle is a warm, engaging, and even uplifting documentary about chess-playing whiz kids.

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Movie Info

Brooklyn Castle is the remarkable and improbable true story of I.S. 318 in Brooklyn. The school, where 65% of students live below the federal poverty level, has the highest ranked junior high chess team in the nation. The heart of the film is the engaging young students who populate the team: Rochelle, who has the goal of becoming the first female African-American chess master; Pobo, the team's charismatic leader; Justus, an entering student who must manage the high expectations that come with achieving master status at an early age; Alexis, who feels the pressure of his immigrant parents' desire for him to realize the American dream; Patrick, who uses chess to help overcome his ADHD; and James, the young rapping maestro and budding chess talent; among several others. -- (C) Official Site

Rating:

PG (for some language)
Genre:

Documentary, Special Interest
Directed By:

Katie Dellamaggiore
In Theaters:

Oct 19, 2012 limited
On Disc/Streaming:

Jun 4, 2013
Box Office:

$219,407
Runtime:

102 minutes
Studio:

Producers Distribution Agency

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Cast

Justus Williams

Pobo Efekoro

Alexis Paredes

Patrick Johnston

Elizabeth Spiegel

Fred Rubino

Michael John Galvin

Rochelle Ballantyne

James Black

Michelle Brathwaithe

Christiana Inuwere

Lisa Johnston

Viviana Paredes Toledo

Latisha Williams

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Critic Reviews for Brooklyn Castle

All Critics (51) | Top Critics (24)

Brooklyn Castle does a superb job of celebrating the triumph while reinforcing the relentless vigilance it requires from everyone involved.

Oct 7, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

David Hinckley
New York Daily News
Top Critic
Brooklyn Castle is inspiring stuff that grabs you by the throat and will leave you cheering - quietly of course. No shouting in a chess match.

Mar 28, 2013 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Linda Barnard
Toronto Star
Top Critic
There's a general spirit of triumph and perseverance to "Brooklyn Castle" that's inevitably uplifting.

Mar 1, 2013 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Tom Long
Detroit News
Top Critic
"Brooklyn Castle" easily checkmates your inner cynic.

Nov 15, 2012 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Walter V. Addiego
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic
Katie Dellamaggiore's lively and affecting documentary introduces us to a cast of characters that's very winning (in both senses of the word).

Nov 15, 2012 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Mark Feeney
Boston Globe
Top Critic
It's not To Sir, With Love: It's fierce ambition, the channeling of emotion, and hours of drilling.

Nov 14, 2012

David Edelstein
New York Magazine/Vulture
Top Critic
With Brooklyn Castle it's really nice to see so many young, positive minds at play in the world, and to cheer on so many smiling children dreaming of enlightened futures.

Jun 6, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Elias Savada
Film Threat
... a powerful and positive story about dedicated teachers helping kids succeed no matter what their circumstances

Dec 10, 2012 | Full Review…

Emily S. Mendel
culturevulture.net
Like chess, not exactly a high-energy experience but seeing what these kids accomplish, seemingly against all odds is breathtaking all the same.

Dec 8, 2012 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
...provides a corrective to the popular image of American schools as obsessed with sports and popularity, and it makes the strongest possible case for funding after-school activities.

Nov 22, 2012 | Rating: 8/10

Sarah Boslaugh
PopMatters
Chess, brilliant young students and great teachers potent mix.

Nov 16, 2012 | Rating: B plus | Full Review…

James Verniere
Boston Herald
The I.S. 318 team? A delightfully motley, vulnerable, multicultural bunch, whose addiction to chess has allowed them higher aspirations for top high schools and, eventually, college and careers. You will root for them like crazy.

Nov 12, 2012 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Gerald Peary
Boston Phoenix

View All Critic Reviews (51)

Audience Reviews for Brooklyn Castle

Jan 04, 2015

One one level, "Brooklyn Castle" is an occasionally suspenseful documentary that also makes unfortunate use of stop motion effects about the dynasty of championships won by the chess teams at I.S. 318 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. That winning streak continues even though players like Rochelle graduate and seek to continue their study of the game at a higher level, because new players like Justus enter the school, even though he has to travel all the way from the Bronx on a daily basis. On a much wider and more important level, "Brooklyn Castle" makes a great case for why such extracurricular activities are important, and not just because they might keep kids off the street. What this extremely successful program also does is allow the students to travel outside New York City for tournaments, while chess exercises their brains and is an activity that prizes sportmanship.(I love the handshake before and after matches, by the way.) So while they think six moves ahead in the game, they also become prepared to do so in real life, as the documentary also provides insight into the structure of the New York City school system. All of which is threatened is by severe budget cuts after the 2008 recession. As one student says, the last thing that should be cut from any budget is education.

Walter M Super Reviewer
Nov 09, 2012

It's excellent. The critics are absolutely right about this movie. You do not need to know chess to enjoy it. If this movie won the best documentary Oscar this year, I would be very happy. I am afraid no one will see it, and that's a shame. These people, both students and teachers, are the kind of role models our country needs to see, and often. I hope this film makes us more likely to look at chess as part of a good education.

Morris N Super Reviewer