SPELLBOUND
Academy Award Nominee
Best Documentary 2002
English Language
DVD - UK Import - Region 2 PAL (Switzerland compatible)
Jeff Blitz's Academy Award-nominated documentary is an affecting, inspiring look at eight American children as they make their way to compete in the 1999 National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. Defying all stereotypes and categorizations, the spellers that Blitz chooses to focus on run the ethnic and socioeconomic gamut. Emily is from wealthy New Haven, Connecticut, while April, the daughter of a bar owner from Pennsylvania, spends her summers studying. Harry is an intense, quick-witted boy from New Jersey, while Ashley is the African-American daughter of a single Washington, D.C. mother. Gifted Florida resident Nupur is the daughter of Indian parents while Ted hails from a small Missouri town where physical prowess is prized over mental ability. The daughter of Mexican immigrant parents, driven Angela comes from Texas, and Neil is a well-prepared East Indian boy from the wealthy California coast. Blitz provides several minutes at home with each child before we accompany them to the National Bee, where we are swiftly reminded that only one of them has a shot at winning. As engrossing and emotional as the best fiction, one comes away from SPELLBOUND with the feeling that--whether victorious or not--the children whose tales it tells are walking into limitless futures.
Credits Producer: Sean Welch
DVD Features:
Audio:
Dolby Digital Stereo - English
Editorial reviews "...[The contest] is certainly thrilling....Mr. Blitz's real achievement, though -- what makes the last 40 minutes of SPELLBOUND not only exciting but also tremendously moving -- is his attention to the contestants and their families..."
New York Times - A. O. Scott (04/30/2003)
"...It is one of those rare works that speaks the truth about gifted children..."
Film Comment - Alissa Quart (05/01/2003)
"...The documentarian keeps his story rooted in battle and suspense, and we cheer wholeheartedly for every nervous warrior..."
Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum (05/16/2003)
"...The gentle, sometimes whimsical style of the filmmakers is perfectly appropriate to the subject matter....SPELLBOUND, which was nominated for best documentary in this year's Oscar race, casts a potent spell..."
USA Today - Claudia Puig (05/16/2003)
"Your heart completely goes out to the eight young competitors in SPELLBOUND....Blitz and Welch spent a good deal of time selecting the kids they would focus on, a process that pays off beautifully..."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (05/16/2003)
"...Seek it out and you'll be soundly rewarded..."
Total Film - James White (11/01/2003)
"...A very likeable tale of youthful endeavour..."
Sight and Sound - Geoffrey Macnab (10/10/2003)
"SPELLBOUND is a funny and uplifting portrait."
Movieline - Stephen Farber (02/01/2004)
"...These spellers define something unique about the American character….Spell this movie g-r-e-a-t..."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (06/12/2003)
93 minutes
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