IMDb user reviews for
Spellbound (2002/I) More at IMDbPro »

4 stars (out of 4), 11 January 2003

Author: Mike Weston (mweston) from Silicon Valley, CA

This is a documentary about eight kids in the national spelling bee. It follows each both before and during the nationals. It includes kids from privileged backgrounds (e.g., San Clemente) and otherwise (e.g., a Texas farm and a poor part of Washington, D.C.). It includes kids who parents push them, those who push themselves, and those who don't push at all. It includes kids returning to the nationals from previous years, and those who are there for the first time. The structure is cleverly tied together with a visual consisting of eight vertical sliced photographs of the kids, which helps you keep track of them as they are introduced, and later as they drop out in the national competition.

There are some great moments, including when the mother of one contestant is being interviewed and the family dog is licking her leg (which is ignored). Another moment is a sign on a Hooters restaurant giving "Congradulations" to the local winner.

Overall, I can't think of a documentary that I've liked better than this one. There is an excellent blend of humor, tension, and drama. There are eight slices of American life, and views into eight American families. It's just wonderful, and I really hope it gets some distribution beyond the film festival circuit.

I saw this on 11/3/2002 at the 2002 Hawaii International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Maile award for best documentary. The editor (Yana Gorskaya) was at the screening to talk. She said that there was a total of 165 hours of material, and that they originally followed 13 kids. Dropping five of them was a very painful decision.

If you have a chance, see this film!

Add another review

Related Links