Bee Season (2005)
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43% of critics liked it
(105 reviews) -
36% of users liked it
(12,336 ratings)
Adapted from the novel by Myla Goldberg, Bee Season tells the story of a family whose turmoil is brought to the surface by a young girl's unexpected talent. Eleven-year-old Eliza (Flora Cross) is the invisible element of her family unit -- her mother and father (played by Juliette Binoche and… More Adapted from the novel by Myla Goldberg, Bee Season tells the story of a family whose turmoil is brought to the surface by a young girl's unexpected talent. Eleven-year-old Eliza (Flora Cross) is the invisible element of her family unit -- her mother and father (played by Juliette Binoche and Richard Gere) are both consumed with work and busy avoiding their faltering marriage. Her brother, praised for musical genius, is wrapped up in his own adolescent life. Eliza ignites not only a spark that makes her visible but one that sets into motion a revolution in her family dynamic when she wins a spelling bee. Finding an emotional outlet in the power of words and in the spiritual mysticism that he sees at work in her unparalleled gift, Eliza's father pours all of his energy into helping his daughter become spelling bee champion, further distancing himself from his wife and son. A religious studies professor, he sees the opportunity as not only a distraction from his life but as an answer to his own crisis of faith. His vicarious path to God, real or imagined, leads to an obsession with Eliza's success and he begins teaching her secrets of the Kabbalah. Now preparing for the National Spelling Bee, and with her family spreading further and further into four separate directions, Eliza looks on as a new secret of her family's hidden turmoil seems to be revealed with each new word she spells. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
- Directed By
- Scott McGehee, David Siegel
- Genres
- Drama
- In Theaters
- Nov 11, 2005 Wide
- Studio
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
[A] pretentious family-in-crisis drama ...
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Fine directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel (The Deep End) take a detour into mumbo jumbo.
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James Berardinelli, ReelViews
There's no shortage of material on the screen in Bee Season -- it's just not assembled in a satisfying manner.
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Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bee Season is earnest and heartfelt and respectful. And a botch.
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Co-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel, whose visual schemes lent a hypnotic aura to their previous collaborations ... don't find the right balance of story and image this time.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Richard Gere
as Saul Naumann
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Juliette Binoche
as Miriam Naumann
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Flora Cross
as Eliza Naumann
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Max Minghella
as Aaron Naumann
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Kate Bosworth
as Chali

