Spellbound Review
by Harvey S. Karten (harveycritic AT cs DOT com)April 3rd, 2003
SPELLBOUND
# stars based on 4 stars: 3
Reviewed by: Harvey Karten
THINKfilm
Directed by: Jeff Blitz
Written by: Jeff Blitz
Cast: Harry Altman, Angela Arenivar, Ted Brigham, April Degideo, Neil Kadakia, Nupur Lala, Emily Stagg, Ashley White
Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 4/2/03
Competition is like a cold shower: sometimes painful, always invigorating. What the Marxists never realized is that the desire to compete is part of human nature: siblings for mother's attention, boys for girlfriends' attention; executives for money and market share and athletes for points and fame. Writers compete for excellence in film criticism and chess players for pawns, queens and bishops. But why on earth would the ability to spell obscure words be of relevance to anyone? After all, these terms are rarely used and nothing but brute memory is required to learn the succession of letters.
Jeff Blitz attempts to answer this last query in his amusing documentary, "Spellbound." Though the film is not blessed with Ingrid Bergman's presence, it gains the involvement of the audience principally by introducing eight top spellers from around the country in order to allow us to empathize with them when they reach the national finals in Washington, D.C. The picture that Blitz paints for us has us cheering all eight though, of course, at least seven (if not all) must ultimately be eliminated in the nail-biting contest. Had the film simply presented a chronology of the days and weeks leading to D.C., it would have been static. To avoid monotony, editor Yana Gorskava's skillfully jumps about from each contestant on home ground to that young person when in the finals, leaping from the kid to the parent to the coach to the official who pronounces the words and rings the bell to denote the misspelling that eliminates the competitor.
Though the eight spellers are fourteen years old give or take a year or two, they're a diverse lot, with Harry Altman arguable the most idiosyncratic and the most lovable. With near-spastic faces and a broad, if nervous smile exposing his orthodontia, Harry comes across more as a kid in need of special attention from educators with gestures and grimaces that belie his ability at spelling. Angela Arevinar has perhaps the most unusual background. Her folks crossed into the U.S. from Mexico years before and her dad, Ubaldo, a ranch worker in Perryton Texas, never learned English during his twenty years in the U.S.
As a teacher with a long career in difficult New York City high school I could relate particularly to the problems that these contestants faced in their own middle schools, where people who study hard whether they're into foreign policy or the brute memorization of words are considered geeks and have few
friends. Appearing both in regional and national competitions of this kind, then, gives the kids a particular thrill that of really fitting in with people their own age who have the same interests and are not afraid of sounding intelligent.
Is spending hours each day memorizing words rather than going out with the girls to the mall on Friday night a bad thing? Could be. Still, they have other rewards. As writer-director Blitz states in the production notes, "Top spellers master incredible memorization skills, learn word origins, root languages, and the history of English....they also learn the value of determination." Not everyone can be the football captain, getting all the pretty girls. If chess if your thing, great. If pole vaulting, film criticism or spelling is your passion, go for it. America has limitless opportunities for an individual to be a champion, and even if you don't get the trophy, you become part of a group of like-minded people who relish what they're doing. If you don't believe that, you may not be convinced after seeing "Spellbound." But whether you get the giggles from watching Harry go through his gyrations or checking out the Jack Russell terrier that falls asleep whenever it's on camera, you'll be involved with these youngsters.
Rated G. 97 minutes. Copyright 2003 by Harvey Karten at
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
