Have you seen Andrew Bujalski's Computer Chess yet? Do it. Right now. Greg and I watched this one rainy Sunday afternoon and were absolutely mesmerized.
Computer Chess premiered at last year's Sundance festival and later at South by Southwest. It's filled with little-known stars and one big, nerdy one: Wiley Wiggins! Remember the cute freshman from Dazed and Confused?
Set in 1980 and shot entirely on analog cameras in black & white, a group of men, (and one woman!) gather in a hotel convention hall to compete in a rousing weekend-long game of computer chess. But who will win? Man or computer? For the first twenty minutes or so of the movie, you think that this is all it is, and oddly, it's enough. It's super nerdy, super quiet and even painstakingly slow at times.
Sprinkled with scenes from another convention happening the same weekend, a couples group called "The Seekers" vie for space in the small, feline-filled hotel. A character named Papageorge wanders the halls at night trying to find a place to sleep and does anything but. A lowly college grad attracts the wrong friends. Later, you learn that one of the computer programs has been attracted attention from the Pentagon. Can a computer evolve enough to have independent thought? Does artificial intelligence really exist?
Stay seated until the end. Seriously. A visit from a local prostitute will have you questioning some profound possibilities. It's been a few weeks since the credits rolled and I'm still questioning.
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