Description:
An intelligent 11-year-old girl holds the key to solving her dysfunctional family's crisis in Bee Season, an intriguing drama that draws heavily on the mysterious power of words. Adapted by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal (Running on Empty) from the popular novel by Myla Goldberg, this curiously involving movie focuses on the Naumanns, an academically inclined family led by Saul (Richard Gere), a stern father and emotionally distant husband who teaches Jewish theology in Berkeley. Driven to intellectual pursuits and intense study of the Kabbalah (especially its theological emphasis on the mystical importance of words), he barely notices
An intelligent 11-year-old girl holds the key to solving her dysfunctional family's crisis in Bee Season, an intriguing drama that draws heavily on the mysterious power of words. Adapted by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal (Running on Empty) from the popular novel by Myla Goldberg, this curiously involving movie focuses on the Naumanns, an academically inclined family led by Saul (Richard Gere), a stern father and emotionally distant husband who teaches Jewish theology in Berkeley. Driven to intellectual pursuits and intense study of the Kabbalah (especially its theological emphasis on the mystical importance of words), he barely notices his young daughter Eliza (Flora Cross) until she wins a regional spelling bee. Shifting his favor away from his rebellious son (Max Minghella) and a troubled wife (Juliette Binoche) still traumatized by a past tragedy, Saul invests his paternal pride in Eliza's spelling prowess, unaware that she's got some mystical powers of her own. As proven by their acclaimed mystery thriller The Deep End, co-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel have a knack for Hitchcockian attention to visual details, and with a performance by 12-year-old Flora Cross that's wise beyond her years, Bee Season unfolds as a uniquely perceptive film about complex human behavior. Not for all tastes (as evident by the mixed reviews it received from critics), but very rewarding for anyone who tunes into its peculiar emotional wavelength. --Jeff Shannon
Richard Gere stars in this gripping tale about a father obsessed with training his talented daughter for the National Spelling Bee. Eliza Naumann (Flora Cross) demonstrates such an amazing gift for spelling any word given to her that her father Saul (Gere) insists on coaching her himself. But as Eliza's success continues, Saul's newfound devotion grows causing huge changes for the entire family!
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Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Release date: 4 April 2006
Number of discs: 1
EAN: 0024543228721 UPC: 024543228721
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