Review of Spellbound (2002) by Alex M — 16 Apr 2004

[size=3]Jeffrey Blitz's film [i]Spellbound [/i]reminds us how documentaries can be just as entertaining, profound, insightful and thrilling as the best fiction films. The best documentaries prove that truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and indeed it is hard to imagine a screenwriter developing eight stories as compelling and rich as the ones presented by [i]Spellbound[/i]. The film is like a Christopher Guest mockumentary in its structure, in that it introduces us to a wide variety of characters and then follows them to a climactic showdown at a national championship. In this case, the characters are all children and the showdown is the National Spelling Bee...an American tradition that puts pre-pubescents under extreme stress in a sudden-death competition. Although the final third of the film chronicles the actual competition, [i]Spellbound [/i]is about a lot more than the National Spelling Bee. It is about the specific personalities of the children interviewed, and the varying ways in which their parents' have raised them. And, although the film has an uplifting message about the power of knowledge to overcome all obstacles, [i]Spellbound [/i]also subtly examines the realities of the class divisions in America. What is remarkable about the film is the way that, by focusing on several children (and their families) and allowing them to express their hopes and dreams, [i]Spellbound [/i]becomes a celebration of all that is right with America. It is probably no coincidence that Blitz chose to focus on several children whose parents were immigrants, and some of the stories involving people who have come to America are the most touching. There is a poignancy in the story of Angela, the girl whose father immigrated illegally from Mexico and still does not speak English, but is immensely proud to see his daughter succeed at mastering the language. Other stories also contain moments so subtle and profound that they cut to the heart of the way we live now. And, of course, the actual spelling competition is a wonderful (yet almost unbearably tense) climax. As a person who considers himself a very good speller, I was frequently yelling out, as if I could help the children in their struggles (although, to be honest, like poor Ted, I also spelled "distractible" incorrectly, as "distractable"). [i]Spellbound [/i]is a wonderful documentary: it celebrates the English language, it reminds us of how innocent and bright children really are (unlike the snide ones we get in fiction films), and it contains moments as funny, complex and thrilling as anything you will see in a fiction film. What screenwriter could possibly envision the delicious irony of a Hooters restaurant putting up a sign to cheer on their local representative in the National Bee: "Congradulations to Nupur".[/size].

[size=3]Special Note: I have only watched ESPN's coverage of America's Spelling Bee once, and by an astonishing coincidence, it happened to be the year that was covered by this documentary. I did not realize this at first as I was watching the film, but then some of the faces began to look familiar to me, and I realized that I had seen them competing in the championship. The person that made me positive I had seen him before was Georgie, who has an unforgettable lisp. Thankfully, I did not remember who had won, so the suspense of the film remained...[/size].

[size=3](BASIC)[/size].