Overview

In a bittersweet debut drama named for a legendary chess move, Colombian writer-director Natalia Santa tells the story of three longtime friends living in Bogotá. Samuel (Gonzalo de Sagarminaga) is an occasional tutor in chess and math. Like his two best friends—pot-smoking, gambling doctor Marcos (Manuel Navarro) and Joaquin (Hernan Mendez), a glum watch repairman living hand-to-mouth in his vintage shop—he is professionally gifted but financially and emotionally hard-up. The trio has long survived in a fog of oblivion, drifting aimlessly through shabby nightspots as their lives deteriorate around them. Then comes a moment of truth—but are they too jaded to acknowledge it? 

Santa uses her vintage aesthetic and careful approach to composition to conjure the isolation and monotony of her characters’ existence. While her compassionate script doesn’t shy away from the consequences of poor decision making and dubious motivation, it also leaves room for the possibility that it’s never too late to take a chance on life.