Potini's The Dark Horse

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You don't need to know anything about chess, New Zealand or Genesis Potini to fall under the spell of "The Dark Horse."

This may have as much to do with the real-life Potini as with the actor who becomes him in this loving portrait: "Fear the Walking Dead" star Cliff Curtis. His immersive portrayal makes Potini fascinating and unpredictable in every frame of "The Dark Horse."

The real guy was just as interesting. It was a 2003 documentary about the New Zealand chess champ (nicknamed the Dark Horse) that inspired writer-director James Napier Robertson to give Potini's story narrative treatment.

But it's Curtis who brings Potini to life. Compelling and authentic, lumbering and gentle, wise and innocent — the actor and his character are inseparable in this film.
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Gen secretly allows his nephew to join anyway, threatening friction in the family that would upend Gen's fragile mental state.

The real Potini saw chess as a great equalizer among people and practical way to solve problems: he believed anyone could learn to play, and the skills needed to figure things out in the game also worked in everyday life. He worked earnestly to manage his bipolar disorder, in part by intentionally focusing on positive ways to contribute, like teaching chess to kids so they might imagine a life beyond their crime-ridden neighborhoods.

Curtis embodies this struggle with such sincerity and compassion that he's impossible not to root for. His Gen is the pot-bellied, toothless, eccentric hero you never knew you always wanted.

Gen is such a big-hearted character that his story is more than just a portrait of overcoming mental illness or a tale of a loving mentor taking his rag-tag team to the top. It's a reminder of our shared humanity — things like chess and movies can unite us — and, as humans, we can choose to aim for the positive, regardless of our mental, physical or geographical

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