Odysseus’ Gambit is a documentary on the life of Saravuth Inn – a Cambodian immigrant – who indulges himself in the game of chess, in the heart of New York City, with the hope that with the lessons learned from the board, he may yet find a better position in life.
The game of chess serves as a strong metaphor in Saravuth’s life in many insightful ways. Director’s Alex’s integration within the plot is as seamless as it gets in 12 minutes of documentary film. And it is not what is usually encountered from journalists who refer to political disputes between warring factions as a chess game.
Odysseus’ Gambit provides a rich tapestry of life as a game, elucidating how Saravuth’s life is enriched and improved by his deep comprehension of chess and how that directs his sense of past experiences. The way he relates to people and how he applies common chess concepts to both strategically and tactically soothe and comfort himself from the throes of his past life experiences are particularly impressive.
Spirited away from Cambodia as a young boy by United States Forces in the name of providing support for thousands of Cambodian refugees many decades ago, Saravuth now spends all his life at Union Square in the heart of Manhattan, where he plays chess for money, if he wins, and accepts food, hot drinks and occasional handouts from well-wishers.
An incredibly interesting man, this Saravuth, who still believes that without a home or belongings, that he may yet fall on the lucky side of love and perhaps start a new life away from the streets with a lady fan who seems to wish him that promise together.
That Saravuth keeps his mind open in this way is easily surmised from the lessons learned from chess. A very important chess strategy, as Saravuth admits, and espoused by many chess champions, is the notion of mobility and pawn structure.
In a nutshell this refers to positioning pieces to allow for the maximum number of possible moves. From this general principle the specific maxims of placing rooks and bishops on open files and diagonals are derived. Played out on the stage of life itself as Odysseus’ Gambit often portrays, it is easy to understand how this gives the player or a person more and better options.
From this perspective, where more options translate into more choices to respond to a threat or to launch an attack, indeed Saravuth finds deep unbelievable hope. His attitude and his relations with people are ones that seem to build these sorts of lasting open files and diagonals that may someday perhaps position the return of his admirer.
An astute documentary this is!
Odysseus’ Gambit film has played in multiple film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival where it was nominated for Short Filmmaking Award in Non-fiction. The film has also played at the Nashville Film Festival, Norwegian Short Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival and quite a few others with prizes picked up at the Tehran Short Film Festival, Cracow Film Festival, Aix-En-Provence International Short Film Festival, and Accolade Competition.
Director: Àlex Lora
Writer: Àlex Lora
Stars: Saravuth Inn
Very interesting documentary. After watching it I still do not seem to understand the circumstances for his ‘abduction’ from Cambodia. If he was abducted as a child and was never able to return, how come he’s married to a Vietnamese and has two Vietnamese children still living in Cambodia? Did he get married in the USA?
And why is he living on the streets when he could apply for asylum? These are some of the many questions that kept popping up every time I re-watch the documentary. I feel perhaps that many of these details were left out out of a lack of thorough research into the man’s background or just as propaganda to paint our dear country the USA and our government as uncaring technocrats. Whatever the motivation, I hope this man finds a place, a home, here in America and maybe some true love as well!
Good point Hagari. But I think the director is only truly interested in striking a metaphor between Saravuth’s life and chess. I think this film is more about the craft of filmmaking than it is about the art of storytelling. Because if we considered the later, Alex Lora has done a terrible job. If we consider the former, this is a quite an interesting piece of art.
I disagree because the film may have conveniently left out those details on purpose. I think there’s a part of us that always want to know the whole story of a character in a film. But why should that be? If film, especially documentary, aims to portray a true reflection of life then I think Odysseus’ Gambit here is sincere. There’s no person/character in real life that we know everything about. It’s always a discovery, just like playing chess. So if you feel you still don’t know the man then maybe you have finally understood the game of chess and of life – that nothing is fully known/certain; it’s life; it’s how we’ve come this far, evolution and we seek only yo know more and more.
An artistic documentary, but needs a little bit more thorough storytelling.
I hope Saravuth finds some love and this documentary does not end up being just taking advantage of a helpless man on the streets like we do in taking pictures in war-torn African countries and such, of hunger, suffering and doom, without a spirit and a resolve to help.
I have watched the film. And I remember Saravuth from back in the late 1970s… as a charismatic opportunist who lied about his age at Toms River Middle School East to (1) obtain a free education, (2) prey on vulnerable 12-13 year old middle school girls, and (3) athletically dominate 12-13 year old boys in sports like wrestling.
Always gaming the system, I find it as no surprise that he is featured in so many gullible ‘film festivals’… and (no surprise!) that he has been homeless/jobless for 15+ years.
But if we look calmly and objectively at his “plight”… isn’t it a but unbelievable that he has not improved his plight by now, or at least returned to Cambodia. I call “BS” to one of the biggest BS-ers I have ever come across.
Of course he’s still “looking for love”… because that translates to free meals, free home, free FREE!