Chess Themed ‘Critical Thinking’ Marks John Leguizamo’s Directorial Debut

Critical Thinking is a deeply moving, heartfelt film based on a true story of five teens from Miami’s inner city who fight their way to a National Chess Championship few ever thought they could win. The group, which consisted of Latino and black students, was shepherded to its success by an inspirational teacher Mario Martinez known as ‘Mr. T.’

In the film, that teacher is portrayed by John Leguizamo, who also directed Critical Thinking – a seminal directorial debut for one of the most talented and accomplished Latinos in entertainment.

“I just love the story because I can relate to these nerd kids who don’t feel like they fit in anywhere, there’s no place for them, they don’t want to be fighters and don’t want to be gangsters. They didn’t want to play football. They were just nerds; bookworms and this teacher created this beautiful safe space for them to feel safe and then built into these champs. So, I love that story,” said Leguizamo to local Miami news outlet CBS4 prior to release.

Photo credit: Critical Thinking

Venezuelan-American, Miami-based movie producer Carla Berkowitz, Miami’s own Emilio Estefan, and local businessman Harvey Chaplin were the film’s executive producers.

“I remember reading the story about these kids in the Miami New Times. I became addicted to the story, practically obsessed. Most people just toss the newspaper out after reading, but I saved it for years. I knew this was a film that had to be made,” Carla told me during her headlining screening at the Georgia Latino International Film Festival.

The film was made, but only after 20 years of Carla never giving up. “I was once asked by one of the guys, ‘why would a woman like you care about kids like us for such a long time?’, my answer was ‘if not me, then who?’” Carla recalls.

The real Mario Martinez says his goal was to give these boys an avenue to succeed.

“And if they could succeed in a game like this, that’s highly intellectual analytical, they could succeed in life just as well. And chess teaches you to learn how to make decisions to think ahead and that’s what life is all about making good choices,” said Martinez.

“The sad and beautiful thing is that there is a lot of these super-gifted genius kids in our communities that are not getting the love and nurturing that they deserve and they know what the magic bullet is, it’s just money. We have great teachers in America. We have the skills. We just need to be clean, need supplies and we need money,” Leguziamo explains. “In these dark times, we need inspiring movies like this to show the incredible ability of people to help each other to be there for each other to respect each other… and I think you’re gonna love this movie.”

“Genius can come from the most unexpected places.” Carla adds, “This is something the world needs to see.”

Critical Thinking has become a festival circuit hit, as it had been a headlining feature in many of the premiere film festivals around the country, and now it can be streamed on Amazon Prime and Hulu.