The Luzhin Defence
Marleen Gorris / GB, 2000 / 109 min.
Alexander Luhzin the obsessive chess genius experiences scarcely manageable emotions when he falls in love with beautiful Russian aristocrat Natalia. Guido van der Werve selected Marleen Gorris’ film of a novel by Nabokov for his film programme to accompany the exhibition at Eye.
Italy, 1920. Eccentric grandmaster Alexander Luhzin (John Turturro) attends the world chess championships. He plays like never before, nothing seeming capable of breaking him from his cocoon of genius. Until, that is, he becomes enchanted by the beautiful Russian aristocrat Natalia (Emily Watson).
The screening of The Luhzin Defence is programmed to accompany the talk - about chess, film and art - by grandmaster Hans Ree (22 March, 19:15) who was invited by Van der Werve.
Details
Director
Marleen Gorris
Production year
2000
Country
GB
Original title
The Luzhin Defence
Length
109 min.
Language
English
Format
35mm
Part of
Guido van der Werve
In the world of Guido van der Werve, Romanticism, nature and the sublime are never far away. His films explore the futility of existence, yet they also capture its endless beauty.
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