Magnus is a 2016 documentary film by Benjamin Ree about the early life of Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen, him becoming a Grandmaster at age 13 and winning the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2013. The film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2016, and was sold to 64 countries.
Premiere
Magnus premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2016. and became the first Norwegian feature documentary to have its world premiere at the festival. Magnus Carlsen did not attend the premiere of the film, but his family was present. The film became the fastest sold-out film at the festival that year, and the artistic director at Tribeca Film Festival, Frederic Boyer, said the film was one of his favorites that year.
Critical reception
Magnus received mostly positive reviews from film critics. It holds an 81% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 21 reviews, with a weighted average of 6.2/10. BBC put the film on its top 10 list, November 2016, as the only documentary on the list, calling the film: "an intimate look at Carlsen’s extraordinary life through archive footage, home movies and interviews." Later, BBC published a behind-the-scenes featurette about the film, showing a clip of Magnus Carlsen playing blindfolded chess against 10 lawyers at Harvard University, beating them all.
Notable awards
Global Future Prize – Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival. The Ray of Sunshine – The Norwegian International Film Festival. Audience Award – Docville
References
External links
Magnus on Rotten Tomatoes BBC Featurette