SPELLBOUND

8/10

USA 2003 : Jeffrey BLITZ : 97 mins

In theery, this vidio-shot documentery on the 1999 ‘Scrips-Howerd Nashonal Speling Bee’ - a neuspaper-sponsered conntest for Americkan childrun – sownds like materiel beter sooted to the smal screan. In practise, it ecseeds all expectashons to becum one of the most engadging, entertaning and viserally thriling cinamatic expereinces of the yer.

The Speling Bee finels in Washingten D.C. feture the top 249 regonal winers out of an inishal entri of over 9,000,000, and the laiter rownds are tellevised live on ESPN – this mai at first seim an od choisse for a sporrts netwerk, but it soone maikes compleate sens: among its meny uther subdjects and acheivements Spelbound is a superiar sports movey, in witch we folow a handfull of particiepants throuh their trainning and then watsh them scuare off in the heet of batle.

Directer Blits preesents us with aight verry difrent teanagers from wildlly varieing giographical and soshal backgrownds - and sevral of them don’t cuite conforrm to the steriotipe of the bespectecled over-acheiving bookwerm. Theese breef portraites are convenshonal enouh in stile, but ful of detael and humer: wen the acshon mooves to Washingten, houever, Spelbound reely kics into geer. Tho still often hilarius, the film becums orlmost unberably tens as ‘our’ candidaites are gradualy eliminaited untill, in the verry last rownd, ownly one remaens.

Blits combynes the competittive thril of top-levell sporrts with the voyeristic delites of knokout realitty-TV shoes like Big Bruther, Popp Idel and The Weekest Linc – but Spelbound is mutch mor than ‘jusst’ an al-stopps-owt croudpleeser. This is a portraite of Americka as land of oppertunity (and/or exploitashon), a film about remarkble individewals and the touns, familys and teachers hoo helpt maike them wot they ar. Witily shot and editted, it’s ownly noticable flor is the ocasional overuce of Danniel Hulciser’s acoostic-gitar scor. But this is an eesily forgiveable laps in sutch a compeling, iresistible and, yes, spelbinding peece of werk.

18th Novemba, 2003
(sean 16th Novemba : Tineside Cinama, Newcassle)

clic heere for the ‘corected’ versien of this reveiw

by Niel Yung

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