Documentary spells suspense

SPELLBOUND is a documentary which follows eight young spelling champions vying for the most American of holy grails, the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.

The children come from a whole host of different backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common — an astounding command of the English language.

It’s amazing, and a little frightening, to see the lengths these kids and their parents are willing to go to win the competition. For instance, one of the contestants studies the dictionary nine hours a day.

Another comes from a Mexican immigrant farming background and her parents don’t even speak English.

After introducing us to the children, the film heads to the finals in Washington, where 249 11 to 14-year-olds put their dreams on the line in a nail-biting two days of competition. One parent described it as “another form of child abuse.” She had a good point.

Though Spellbound is basically a documentary, there is more suspense than most thrillers in the torturous moments at the mike when each child is presented and has to come up with the goods in front of the whole nation — the final rounds are televised across the nation by ESPN.

The looks of pain, panic and puzzlement on the children’s faces as they face their moment of truth, and the disappointment or relief that follows, will have you on the edge of your seat.

Watching these children spelling words that most of us have never even heard of will leave you in awe of the lengths some people will go to achieve the American dream.

Documentary, G. 4/5