The World is Big and the Backgammon Dice has Six Sides
Backgammon as a metaphor of life - a game that swings between luck and skill, and although the dice rolls guide our movements, we are the ones who make the decisions – lies in the heart of The World is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner (Svetat e golyam i spasenie debne otvsyakade), a Bulgarian-German-Slovenian-Hungarian co-production directed by Bulgarian filmmaker Stephan Komandarev.
Backgammon has more than a metaphoric presence in the film. Bai Dan, one of the two protagonists, is a talented amateur player who was even named King of Backgammon by the small café regulars in the small Bulgarian town. Alex, the second protagonist and Bai Dan’s grandson, continues the family tradition and becomes the new Backgammon King of the town, of course, only after he completed a the journey from Germany to Bulgaria through his past and present.
Watch a part of the movie:
More Backgammon Films:
Backgammon (USA, 1998) also uses backgammon is a tool of communication between grandfather and grandchild. In this film, the grandfather is a new Iranian immigrant and the grandchild is a granddaughter who carries double identity: American and Iranian.
Emotional Backgammon (UK, 2003) tagline: "Love is like a game of backgammon… You take your chances."
Reversal of Fortunes (USA, 1990) is based on the true story of Claus and Sunny von Bulow, he a famous playboy and former backgammon champ and she a wealthy heiress who is one day found unconscious on the bathroom floor. Guess who becomes the immediate suspect. The real story, by the way, had just ended recently, when Sunny, who remained in coma for 28 years, died.
In the TV series Lost, backgammon plays a frequent role. Where else?
