Spellbound
D: Jeff Blitz.
Documentary Feature Competition, World Premiere
For good, old-fashioned American drama, it doesn’t get much better than Jeff Blitz’s Spellbound. You’ve got your competition — in this case, the National Spelling Bee. You’ve got your competitors — eight kids of various backgrounds, from the chichi California suburbs to the D.C. projects. And in the wings, their parents — the father who quizzes his son on over 4,000 words a day, the Amarillo farmer who sees his daughter realizing his dreams of a better life, the mother who leaves the au pair at home so the family can finally spend time together. Spellbound grants us access into their world as they prepare for the most important competition of their young lives. The result is inspirational and ridiculous, hilarious and maddening (one disgusted spectator told a participant’s mother that the Bee was “a form of child abuse”). It is also one helluva nailbaiter. This is a story of children (and their parents) swallowing disappointment, a story of children (and their parents) exceeding even their own expectations, a story about children (and their parents) who believe in the American dream, who believe that hard work and education are the key to a better life and, if they’re lucky, one big ol’ trophy. (3/14, Alamo, 11am) Spellbound won the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature.
This article appears in March 15 • 2002.