Searching for Bobby Fisher Discussion Questions

Searching for Bobby Fischer: discussion questions

(Red will not be a test choice.)

1. What was life like when you were seven? What things were important to you? Explain. What is important to Josh? Is he a typical 7-year old? Why or why not? Explain.

2. Why doesn’t Josh want to play chess with his dad? What does this tell us about his character? What might the film-makers be trying to accomplish in that scene? Was it effective?

3. How has the dialogue contributed to the development of the movie so far? What was done to make the dialogue seem natural? Give examples and explain.

4. Who was Bruce Pandolfini? Why does he insist he doesn’t teach any more when talking to Josh’s dad? What was the significance of the conversation on the phone beforehand? How did those two brief conversations develop Pandolfini’s character? Explain.

5. Who is the man in the park that plays chess with Josh? What does he teach Josh? Explain.

6. What’s the moral dilemma the parents struggle with to determine if they should let Josh learn chess from Bruce Pandolfini? Explain.

7. What’s wrong with Josh playing chess in the park? Explain.

8. Explain the tension between Josh’s mom and Pandolfini.

9. Why do parents get so intense about the chess games when the kids don’t seem to mind? What are the things in your life the adults care more about than you do? Explain the significance.

10. How are Bruce and Vinnie opposites? How are they similar? Whose philosophy do you agree with more? Explain.

11. If you were Josh’s parents, what might you do differently? What are they doing right? Explain.

12. Evaluate the movie’s ending. Was it satisfactory? Explain. How might you have it end differently if you were the director?

13. What’s the difference between a prodigy and someone who works hard? Which one is more valuable? Which would you rather be? Using examples from the film, explain your answer.

14. How important is it to be a normal kid? In what ways does our society force kids to grow up too fast? In what ways should we expect people to be more grown up? Explain.

15. Does Josh have friends his own age, or are they competitors? What’s the difference? Explain.

16. Break down the dialogue in a specific scene. Briefly describe the scene and the dialogue. What was the film trying to accomplish with the dialogue? How effective was it? Explain.

Bruce: You have no idea what I want. What is chess, do you think? Those who play for fun or not at all dismiss it as a game. The ones who devote their lives to it for the most part insist that it’s a science. It’s neither. Bobby Fischer got underneath it like no one before and found at its center, art. I spent my life trying to play like him. Most of these guys have. But we’re like forgers. We’re competent fakes. His successor wasn’t here tonight. He wasn’t here. He is asleep in his room in your house. Your son creates like Fischer. He sees like him, inside.

Fred: You can tell this by watching him play some drunks in the park?

Bruce: Yes. You want to know what I want. I’ll tell you what I want. I want back what Bobby Fischer took with him when he disappeared.