RIGHT TO THE CHIN

SPELLBOUND OUT ON DVD TODAY

The power of documentary film lies in its ability to present images and stories that conventional cinema most often cannot. In a documentary, the uniqueness of the real-life story and characters isn’t limited by the thoughts and ideas conjured up in the head of a Hollywood screenwriter. It is bound, most often and most successfully, by pure chance and a willingness to see the seemingly mundane in a new, and often profound, way.

Jeff Blitz’s Spellbound (out on DVD this week) is documentary filmmaking at its finest, following a group of eight kids on the road to competition at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The film was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary feature, losing to Michael Moore on the night of his big-mouthed acceptance speech for the faux documentary, Bowling for Columbine. Where Columbine used the camera to force-feed ideas (sometimes regardless of truth), Spellbound is more true to the genre – letting the camera discover the story.
Among the memorable spellers in Spellbound is Harry Altman, who leaps off the screen with his joke-telling and hilariously bizarre facial contortions used to help him spell words like “cephalagia” and “banns.” Harry, the other spellers, and their families and friends make up a touching and triumphant cast, showing what a little hard work and determination can do towards achieving a goal.

If there is any justice in Hollywood, in coming years Blitz’s talented eye will give theatergoers many more fantastic films with many more fantastic looks at many more fantastic lives.