Spellbound
Spellbound is top-notch entertainment and a documentary that is as exciting and compelling as ever thought possible given the subject matter. Sure, spelling bees have probably represented more popularity on ESPN than NHL hockey – yeah, that stings – but a documentary about eight kids taking part in the National Spelling Bee can’t be all that exciting, can it? Oh yeah. It can be.
Spellbound was directed by Jeffrey Blitz and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. This would be Blitz’s directorial debut and it’s a great film for this director, who also went on to direct 2007′s Rocket Science. Blitz follows eight competitors in the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee and delves into their personal lives, creating a compelling narrative that allows the audience to simultaneously cheer for the whole group and pick a favourite to win. Of course, avid spelling bee watchers would doubtless already know the “winner” here, but for those not in the know, Spellbound would prove an even more exciting prospect.
The kids are tremendous, there’s no doubt about that at all. From the peculiar and goofy to the studious and serious, Spellbound covers the gamut of childhood within competition with a grace and care that is not often seen in similar films. Like the beautiful Mad Hot Ballroom, this film allows the characters within the real lives of the children to speak for themselves and does without a standard narrative or a guiding light. Instead, we are introduced to each of the eight contestants we’ll follow within the opening half of the film. This introduction to the kids takes us on a wild ride around the United States, from the less privileged areas of D.C. to an affluent area in California, to a standard farm and into suburbia.
The real key within Spellbound is the identifiable factors behind each of the kids. It’s easy to feel compelled when the kids are so varied and so intelligently and innocently presented by Blitz. Nothing is forced here, so the organic nature of the kids in their natural and not-so-natural environments is on display without a filter. Kids claim to not want to be at the spelling bee, others claim indifference, and still others have intense competitive fire to win the whole thing. The desire and true nature of the spellers is part of the reason that the film works so well. You can’t write stuff this good!
Spellbound is also insanely riveting. I found myself standing and cheering or swatting at my screen as though I was watching a Vancouver Canucks game. It was truly an experience of a film that allows for cheering and booing, both at the victories and the apparent injustices (“he pronounced it wrong!”) that occur. Spellbound is probably one of the most action-packed thrillrides there is, actually, and contains so much raw energy and fire that it’s hard to turn away. It is a film that will fascinate, compel, excite, and interest almost anyone with its natural style and its heart.
Trailer:
