CNS Movie Review: Bee Season

Bee Season

By David DiCerto
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Faith and phonics make intriguing bedfellows in "Bee Season" (Fox Searchlight), a gently involving, if emotionally muted, drama that couples spelling bees and Jewish mysticism.

Based on the novel by Myla Goldberg, "Bee Season" centers on an otherwise ordinary sixth-grader, Eliza Naumann (Flora Cross), with an uncanny aptitude for spelling.

When she wins a local spelling competition, Eliza leapfrogs her older brother, Aaron (Max Minghella), into first position for the attention of their academic father, Saul (Richard Gere), who, though caring, is a bit of a pedantic perfectionist.

Saul, a Talmudic scholar at Berkeley, becomes consumed with tutoring Eliza to the exclusion of his son and mentally unstable wife, Miriam (Juliette Binoche), a Catholic convert to Judaism haunted by childhood tragedy.

Obsessed with the ancient texts of Kabbalah -- an esoteric offshoot of Judaism -- Saul believes that words and letters "hold the secrets of the universe" and by mastering their sounds and syllables one can achieve total union with God and "restore a shattered world" (a recurring theme in the film).

Eliza continues to win her way to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, mysteriously explaining to her parents that she "hears the word's voice."

Recognizing something beyond natural ability, Saul begins to incorporate Kabbalic instruction into their daily study routine.

But his preoccupation blinds him to his wife's slow descent into madness and Aaron's religious rebellion. After testing out other faiths (including Catholicism), he joins a Hare Krishna commune at the friendly promptings of a pretty member (Kate Bosworth), who, when they first meet, tells him,"I was raised Catholic, but it felt like empty ritual."

Though the film maintains the literary tone of the book, its cerebral subject matter -- the interior lives of its characters -- is skillfully navigated by co-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel. Imaginative visuals provide fanciful accents to several scenes, providing a window into Eliza's mind.

The idea that words and language can serve as conduits to the divine is shared by many religions, finding expression not only in Jewish mysticism, but in Buddhist chants and the Christian tradition of "lectio divina." Early on, Saul tells Eliza that "God is in the words, God is the words," echoing the Gospel of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Unfortunately, the movie reduces Saul's pursuit of transcendence to a spiritual study aid -- a mystical Hebrew version of Hooked on Phonics. Several of the other story lines, including Miriam's meltdown, remain unresolved.

During one of the final rounds, Eliza is asked to spell "solipsism," referring to the philosophical theory that the self is the only reality that exists. It is also the root cause of the Naumanns' domestic dysfunction. Saul's self-absorption makes him oblivious to the pain of those around him.

In searching for a shortcut to spiritual perfection, Saul fails to grasp that communion with God calls us to communion with each other and demands we look beyond ourselves, a point underlined by the film's poignant climax.

Ultimately, though intelligent and finely acted, "Bee Season" doesn't have much of a dramatic sting.

The film contains a sexual encounter, a scene involving a questionable distribution of Communion, and minimal rough and crude language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

END

Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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