SPELLBOUND
(U) 97min 0....
Who would have thunk it? The best film of the year is an incisive. funny and heart-stoppingly suspenseful documentary about a peculiarly American phenomenon, the National Spelling Bee. Mere words cannot communicate the joy of watching it, and in your enthusiasm to communicate this joy to others. you may find yourself slipping into logorrhoea (pathologically excessive. often incoherent talking).
Every year thousands of 14-year-old high school students from all over the US compete in regional Spelling Bee heats; the best go on to the national finals in Washington. Jeff Blitz's film focuses on eight young contestants from a variety of regional, class and racial backgrounds. revealing their individual personalities, their unique study methods, and the dynamics of their familial relationships. On stage. under intense pressure. and in front of a live audience and TV cameras. they must spell arcane words such as cephalalgia (a pain in the head).
It is impossible not to sympathise with and root for all the spellers. We see rich kids under pressure from their aspirational parents. and poor ones striving to establish their personal identity through a mastery of language. Neil's Indian-born father devises a study plan involving computer programs. private coaching
rilfioifld‘ueiwo (U) 100min O...
and the rote-learning. By contrast. after 20 years in Texas, Angela's immigrant Mexican father still doesn’t speak English. Yet she devises her own ad hoc method of study and is determined to win.
This is not a film about spelling. It is a film about family, class, race and the American Dream. All of this feeds
Swallowing the dictionary
into the palm-sweating. edge-of-your seat tension of the nationally televised sudden-death final. The most unexpected, enjoyable and profoundly humane film of the year. (Nigel Floyd)
The lisfis offering you the chance to see Spellboundfor FREE on Sunday 5 October! We have 1005 of tickets to give away to the first people who present their copy of {he list Gla:qon
to the either of the box offices listed below from 2 October. 12:.ropni (c; lpn;
Glasoor. Film inc-airs 12 Rose Street at torrxzarr Rm? Mm
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THE LIST 25