Spellbound (2002)

This movie also shows that you don't need eye candy to have a great film. The grainy shooting, often muddy sound and slightly wobbly camera in no way detract from the movie. The filmmakers are so good at capturing what's happening and their subjects are so interesting that all technical aspects become moot -- as they well should be.

At the heart of the movie are the eight kids in the competition, all of them marvelous characters. The filmmakers did a superb job diversifying the subject, for if Spellbound had been merely a documentary about a spelling bee, it would inevitably have fallen into repetitiveness. Instead, it succeeds in sketching out eight character studies before sending them on their central journey, and we respond to and are sympathetic to them along the way. And the moments of emotional connection are both surprising and touching: When one contestant (no spoiler) cries in her mother's arms after nerves got her eliminated early in the bee; when a zealous father clasps his hands in prayer at his son's hesitation on the stage; when a father and mother have to leave the auditorium because they can't bear the suspense. If you were to describe the situations outside of the film's context they might sound too small and insignificant to make great cinema, but the film lends such a sympathetic and detailed eye -- and the people themselves have such a good sense of humour -- that you'll find yourself drawn to them. And the kids -- an entertaining bunch: The obsessive, serious Neil, the nihilistic Ted; hyperactive oddball Harry; precocious, articulate Emily, whose sardonic remarks are achingly hilarious; shy, pessimistic April. After their introduction, I felt like they were kids living on my street, and I became more attached to them than I do to most movie characters or documentary subjects.

This is the kind of film we need more of. No tricks, no flash, and no huge fiery set pieces; just a very well-told story with deep-reaching characters and an inexorable forward narrative whose pacing leaves most blockbusters in the dust. Essential viewing!

Now I know this sounds extremely boring to the huge majority of us out here who have never even considered competing in a spelling bee. Give it a chance -- this movie is really about the individuals and their private dramas as they go through their training processes for the contest. We see a wide variety of approaches to preparing from both the parents' end and their kids': but truthfully, this whole thing reminds me of stage parents getting their children ready for those awful pageants. Almost across the board, pressure is applied to the kids to perform and WIN. For example one dad (who sounds to me like the most extreme perfectionist control freak that ever existed) drills his son on seven to eight thousand words per day and paid hundreds of people to pray for his son to win. He also promised that he would pay for five thousand people in India to have dinner IF his son won first place in the spelling bee. Talk about a heavy burden to put on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old kid!

The two exceptions to this stage parent mentality are interesting. One is the mom of an African American girl from a poor neighborhood; the other, immigrants from India whose daughter is a first generation American. In both cases, the girls were made to feel that they were good enough even without a championship trophy or a medal. There was never any suggestion that they were defined by their success in this spelling contest. I personally believe that of all the contestants, these two kids will have the best experiences in the larger adult world later on because their parents were supportive rather than trying to live vicariously through them or pushing them too hard; plus, these girls were allowed to have a life outside of the spelling bee training, which seemed to be lacking for most of the other kids as well.

Spellbound is an honest look into the world of spelling bees and the lives of the kids who compete in them, often from a very young age. It is relatively entertaining for a documentary, heavily dependant on listening to the dialogue rather than visuals, and sometimes funny in unexpected ways. Recommended for people who like documentaries in general.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle