:
Richard Gere,
Richard Gere,
Juliette Binoche,
more...
:
David Siegel,
David Siegel,
Scott McGehee,
more...
see all cast/crew...
: 
: 20th Century Fox
: Drama, Coming of Age , Dysfunctional Families
: 104 min.
: English, Spanish
: English, Spanish, French
see additional details...
|
|
Adapted from the novel by Myla Goldberg, Bee Season tells the story of a family whose turmoil is brought to the surface by a young girl's unexpected talent. Eleven-year-old Eliza (Flora Cross) is the invisible element of her family unit -- her mother and father (played by Juliette Binoche and Richard Gere) are both consumed with work and busy avoiding their faltering marriage. Her brother, praised for musical genius, is wrapped up in his own adolescent life. Eliza ignites not only a spark that makes her visible but one that sets into motion a revolution in her family dynamic when she wins a spelling bee. Finding an emotional outlet in the power of words and in the spiritual mysticism that he sees at work in her unparalleled gift, Eliza's father pours all of his energy into helping his daughter become spelling bee champion, further distancing himself from his wife and son. A religious studies professor, he sees the opportunity as not only a distraction from his life but as an answer to his own crisis of faith. His vicarious path to God, real or imagined, leads to an obsession with Eliza's success and he begins teaching her secrets of the Kabbalah. Now preparing for the National Spelling Bee, and with her family spreading further and further into four separate directions, Eliza looks on as a new secret of her family's hidden turmoil seems to be revealed with each new word she spells. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
|
| Cohesion, Please.
by talltale
April 9, 2006 - 8:12 AM PDT
|
|
|
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
|
Scott McGehee and David Siegel surely do come up with intelligent movies. "Suture" and "Deep End" can't be faulted on that score, and neither can their newest: BEE SEASON. The only trouble is, they consistently fudge certain areas that need to be more explicit, and thus each film comes across as missing something. This makes for some good discussion possibilities: Does the father's character really understand from where his daughter gets her amazing spelling gift? Sometimes it seems so, other times, not. And how could the mother have accomplished her other "work" for so long without getting caught? (Better let that one go entirely.)
From viewer comments posted elsewhere that compare movie to the novel on which it's based, the novel (as usual) comes off as richer, much more compelling and understandable. I haven't read the novel, but I'm guessing that the criticisms of the film are on target. This directorial team is in love with ellipses (which I admit preferring to something overly-explicit) but when too many themes and scenes (involving faith, love, god and family) just miss the necessary cohesion, one suspects that filmmaking skills are at fault.
Still, I was never bored, for "Bee Season" moves along at a good pace, the performances are all excellent and--for awhile--the slightly off-kilter air is bracing. (The visualization that the directors have given to Eliza's "spelling" is particularly childlike and charming.) The pieces are all here; they just need a little expansion and/or change in order to fit together properly. |
|
|
GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 5.32)
22 Votes
add to list 
|
|
|
Your cart
© 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide®,
a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.