Spellbound

I once took a seminar on film from Roger Ebert and he said “A movie is not what it is about, it is about how it is about it.” Bear this in mind when I recommend, Spellbound, a movie “about” the Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee championship. It’s also about immigration, ambition, IQ, poverty, high school and the pressures of competition. Brilliantly edited and fascinating on many levels the film’s only weakness is the pointlessness of the core activity. But that too is part of the point.

Spellbound is just now out on DVD. Hat tip to Craig Newmark whose earlier recommendation I followed.

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