Bee Season (2005)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Directors:

Scott McGehee
David Siegel

Writers (WGA):

Myla Goldberg (novel)
Naomi Foner (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 November 2005 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Words may define us, but it's love that connects us.

Plot:

A wife and mother begins a downward emotional spiral, as her husband avoids their collapsing marriage by immersing himself in his 11 year-old daughter's quest to become a spelling bee champion.

Plot Keywords:

Spelling | Secret | Spelling Bee | National Spelling Bee | Book

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Richard Gere	...	Saul
Juliette Binoche	...	Miriam
Flora Cross	...	Eliza
Max Minghella	...	Aaron
Kate Bosworth	...	Chali
Corey Fischer	...	National Spelling Bee Pronouncer
Sam Zuckerman	...	National Spelling Bee Judge
Joan Mankin	...	Ms. Bergermeyer
Piers Mackenzie	...	Dr. Morris
Lorri Holt	...	Ms. Rai
Brian Leonard	...	Mr. Julien
Jamal Thornes	...	Wiseacre Boy's Mate
Kathy McGraw	...	Regional Bee Pronouncer
John Evans	...	Regional Bee Judge
Alisha Mullally	...	Young Miriam

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, a scene of sensuality and brief strong language.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | Mexico:B | Singapore:NC-16 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | France:U | Sweden:Btl | Australia:M | Finland:K-7 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40910) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | South Korea:12 | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

1075 Mariposa Avenue, Berkeley, California, USA

Company:

Bee Season Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Jonathan Murphy auditioned for the part of Aaron Naumann.

Goofs:

Continuity: The license plates on the family Volvo are different on the front and back. The front license plate starts with a "4", the rear license plate starts with a "5".

Quotes:

Saul: There are people who believe that letters are an expression of a very special primal energy and when they combine to make words they hold all the secrets of the universe...
Saul: Remember the Vikings?
Saul: [Takes a green apple] Ok, Vikings called this "aepli".
Saul: Now when they took it across the sea in their ships it became "apfel".
Saul: Crossed another border, it became "appel".
Saul: By the time it got to us it was "apple".
Saul: Its spelling contains all of that.
Saul: It holds its history inside it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee: (2005-11-14)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Violin Concerto in E Major BWV 1042

I Wish More Had Been "Spelled Out" For The Audience

Since I have not read the novel upon which Bee Season is based, I cannot evaluate the film's interpretation of the book. It seems, however, that there is more occurring within the characters of this story that is not stated or developed within the screenplay. And unfortunately more needed to be conveyed, and developed in order for this film to affect the audience in a useful way.

Plot Summary: The film is about an intellectual, dynamic family. Eliza (Flora Cross) enters a school spelling bee, wins, and soon realizes she has the ability to visualize words and their correct spelling. She says she feels and sees the word "talking to her." Her father, Saul Naumann (Richard Gere), a professor of Judaic Mysticism at a San Francisco university later decides that Eliza has the unique ability to speak to God. He becomes preoccupied with nurturing and developing this "gift" within his daughter, and in the process falls out of touch with his son Aaron (Max Minghella), who becomes disillusioned with his faith in Judaism and rebels against the influences of his father. Aaron begins studying Buddhism after meeting a female romantic interest who is sympathetic to his expressed feelings of emptiness and detachment. Saul's Wife, Miriam (Juliette Binoche), struggles with her own detachment from reality as she continues to mourn the death of her parents who died in an accident when she was young girl.

My Analysis: Like some of the characters in the film, I too left the film somewhat empty, or unfulfilled. I wanted to know more about what was going on with this family. The relationship between Gere's character and his son is somewhat familiar -- a son rebels against a father who is too strongly pushing his faith and interests. This form of rebellion seems typical of most adolescents. The mother and daughter share the unusual relationship; both of whom seem to possess certain supernatural powers. While it is the daughter's power to visualize and spell that is the focal point of the film, it may well be a similar ability that drives her mother to mental illness. The relationship between them should have been developed more, however.

I wanted to know what the mystical-supernatural ability meant, but the screenplay doesn't explain much, and this is frustrating. In addition, when it becomes apparent that Miriam is suffering from a severe mental disorder and continues to mourn the death of her parents, I questioned why her husband was so utterly unaware of her suffering as it had been going on for some time. He was an intelligent man who had great concern for the welfare of his family, and it didn't seem to fit his character.

The film might merely be about a domineering father and the influence his beliefs have over his family. But I'm hoping it's more than that. The story goes to pains to make it clear that there is a very real supernatural element at work here, but the film doesn't do enough to convey what this means and why it's important. I appreciate movies that are efficient, that don't hold my hand through everything and that give me credit for making inferences to tie a storyline together, or even leave the story purposely ambiguous so as to allow for interpretation, but in the case of the Bee Season, the subject matter is too abstruse and the story is too underdeveloped. I could not reach a satisfactory understanding of what occurred and why it was important.

The acting was strong, however. Binoche, Gere and company make the best of an underdeveloped script. The quality of the acting makes the problems with the script even more frustrating because it seems like this film could have been much more.

JeromeFreeman.com