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BEE SEASON (2005) (***)

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If you blinked you would have missed the release of this film in fall of 2005. The trailers made the film out to be about a little girl’s magical ability at spelling bees. However, it’s really about a professor whose desire to communicate with G-d gets in the way of him communicating with his family.

Saul Naumann (Richard Gere, CHICAGO) is a professor at Berkeley, specializing in Jewish theology and the Kabbalah, the mystic Jewish religion that Madonna has unfortunately made trendy. He has a very close relationship with his son Aaron (Max Minghella, ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL), who shares his interests in music. His young daughter Eliza (Flora Cross, film debut) is too intimidated to enter her father’s office to even tell him that she has made the regional spelling bee. However, when he does find out, she quickly becomes his new favorite, because in Kabbalah the believers feel words can bring the truly gifted in communication with G-d.

Now left out of his father’s graces, Aaron goes searching for his own spiritual direction, befriending a Hare Krishna girl named Chali (Kate Bosworth, BEYOND THE SEA). Almost as a side note Saul’s wife Miriam (Juliette Binoche, THE ENGLISH PATIENT) has been struggling with the death of her parents for decades and has developed a strange compulsion, which no one in the family is even aware of exists.

Through the story of this fractured family, the film does a fine job making the beliefs of Kabbalah come to life. Its haunting tone is solidified by the performance of Cross, who makes a striking film debut. The story is compelling throughout, with a satisfying, but a bit too pedestrian conclusion. Likewise, the mother/wife character never seems integrated into the overall theme enough. Her story is interesting, but seemed out of place for this story.

However, the dynamic between Saul and his kids is the film’s heart. In addition to Cross, Gere and Minghella do fine jobs. The visual and musical style creates an uneasy feel with some nice whimsical flares when Eliza closes her eyes and sees the words spelling before her. I’ve said many times before that because religion plays such a huge role in people’s lives and the way the world operates there should be more films about belief. This film’s compelling look into Kabbalah is a good enough reason to see the film alone. It being a good drama about a family in turmoil only makes it better.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks