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Spellbound (2002)
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Finally the world's geeks get their very own Rocky in the shape of this quirky documentary, which follows eight teenagers as they compete in the 1999 American National Spelling Bee. While the competition is exciting enough, it's the kids' differing backgrounds that give this film its real heart. From the daughter of Mexican immigrants whose father speaks no English to a gawky farmboy whose parents struggle to understand their talented offspring, this is really a story of the trials and occasional triumphs of what it's like to be young and “different” in America. Although first-time documentary director Jeff Blitz makes the odd forgivable lapse — trying to cover too many children and structuring the film in an unimaginatively linear way — this is still a fascinating account of a little-known slice of Americana. And for those of us who need a dictionary to write a cheque, the talent these kids show is phenomenal. AS
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Tell us what you think
Email us at rtfilmcomments@bbc.co.uk to tell us what you think of this film. Your comments may appear in Radio Times magazine.
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Running time
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92min
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Country of origin
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US
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Genre
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Documentary
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Original language
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English
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Theatrical distributor
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Metrodome
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UK cinema certificate
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U
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UK cinema release date
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October 2003
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Film certification logos reproduced by kind permission of BBFC |
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