Spellbound
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Movie Reviews of Spellbound
Movie Review: Casts a spell and keeps you enchanted!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've seen this documentary twice now and was as captured by it the second time as the first. The filmmakers do a superb job of capturing the hopes and dreams of the eight spelling bee participants they choose to highlight. The economic, educational, and family backgrounds of these kids are all so varied and it is fascinating and movign to hear their thoughts and those of their parents, to watch how they prepare, and how they hold up in the competition. It also delves into the question of why the kids do it and what pressures might be on them to succeed, sort of the dark underbelly of spelling bees.
By the time the competition is on screen, you have a vested interest in nearly all of them (yes, I had my favorites) and yet you can't help but feel for them all. This movie was more suspenseful than most thrillers, and contained so much humanity! If you don't weep at least once, I'll be surprised!!
This documentary spawned other "competition" documentaries, one about a dance competition in a New York school district ("Mad Hot Ballroom") and one about a New York Times Crossword PUzzle competition ("Wordplay"). Both of these are excellent and worth watching, too, though neither comes up to the level of Spellbound.
Movie Review: Spellbinding
Summary: 5 Stars
There's no cheating in the highly organized National Spelling Bees, but there's plenty of excitement. There also are lessons to be learned, as when one proud, involved parent says, "What is valuable in life that is easy to achieve? Nothing." He says that not to his child, by the way, but to the documentary film crew.Director Jeffrey Blitz underscores some segments of the competition with music, which is the only needless move he makes. The live ESPN telecast enhances the drama precisely because of the excruciating sound of silence. Some kids will stretch their allotted time to infinity rather than risk uttering one false letter. That's all it takes to plummet from the competition - one I-before-E when it should have been the other way around. One "-able" when "-ible" was the right call.
There are so many differences among the eight contestants. you don't end up rooting for one kid over another. You root for them all, and as they fall one by one, you feel their pain, even as you note their pride.
More than one child, and more than one parent, talk about the spelling bee being one place where these gifted children freely and fully fit in.
Movie Review: Bee Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
At the risk of sounding like a nerd, I am enthusiastically recommending a documentary about a spelling bee. Of course, it isn't really about spelling or being a brainiac, it's about competition. Overblown, corporate-sponsored, American-style competition. I loved it.
It's impossible not to start choosing which kids you want to win and following the story like it's the ice-skating competition at the Winter Olympics. We get the up-close-and-personal interviews with the kids, their parents, and their teachers. We see them at the local spelling bees, then on to the national contest. The final rounds of the national competition are broadcast on ESPN, just in case there isn't enough pressure on these kids already. One of the parents even muses that this level of competition and pressure may be a form of child abuse. It's hard to contradict her.
In some ways, Spellbound is like Michael Apted's series of documentaries that started with 7-Up. In other ways, Spellbound is like watching the Pillsbury Bake-Off. In any case, it is a riveting movie.
Movie Review: Fun and Intelligent
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is fun and intelligent, as my description says. It has lots of hidden "simpsons like" humor, and it makes you think a little :-). The best part is trying to figure out how these children will place based their family background, study habits, and friends. You could almost get a few friends together that haven't seen the movie and place bets on the kids.Anyway, I recommend this movie for two reasons. First of all, I get bored watching cheesy hollywood flicks with the same characters and the same script. Spellbound takes a subject that America vaguely "knows," and makes it transparent. The children are smarter than most adults, and the plot moves full speed through character introductions and the main competition.
Secondly, it is fun to see what these children are capable of spelling. I thought that I had fairly good spelling skills, but after watching this movie, I felt like a moron. Anyway, spend the $3 to rent this movie, it is definitely worth it.
Movie Review: High Drama in 1999 Spelling Bee
Summary: 5 Stars
"Spellbound" is a suspenseful documentary that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the final winner emerges. The film frames and shows the real-life experience of the National Spelling Bee as seen through the eyes of eight young spellers. Their private lives are filmed and the eight featured American children come from a varied spectrum of backgrounds. As they make their way to the national competetion they are shown as they train in this fantastic intellectual show-down. We are privy to their parents' support and pride in their achievements, as well as their intense desire and study habits. The individual stories are intimate and fascinating studies showing a drive impressive and motivating to watch.
The drama of all the local community winners coming together for the National Spelling Bee is insanely riveting. Overall it is a fantastic movie where we are reminded of America's ideals and that children from all socioeconomic backgrounds have a chance for the prize.