FilmRoar

A documentary about kids going to the national spelling bee, how interesting could that possibly be? As it turns out: Very. Spellbound (2002) introduces and briefly follows eight kids as they obsessively train to become the regional spelling. Through interviews with the kids, their families, teachers and bits of other footage we get a glimpse of the lives of the champions and of the mounting excitement as they draw closer to the national championship.

The first two thirds of the movie are interesting enough, I particularly enjoyed the übergeek impromptu humor of Harry Altman, but the real payoff comes in the increasingly tense moments of the last rounds of the competition. Close ups of the kids faces show the relief of being given a word that was studied and remembered, the panic of hearing a word for the first time, the relief of surviving to see the next round and the inevitable agony of defeat for all but one of the contestants. Inter-cut with commentary by anxious parents and spelling coaches the young faces contorting in concentration speak volumes about inner struggle and closely checked emotion. Caught up in the moment I found myself literarily on the edge of my seat remembering I was watching a short movie about a bunch of kids spelling out words.