“Bee Season” is an imperfect film from an almost-perfect novel, yet still a movie that offers all sorts of tantalizing scenes to pollinate family talks.
For teenagers about 13 or older, “Bee Season” quietly builds as it touches deftly on issues of family happiness, parental favoritism, religion, intellect and competition.
Throw in an intriguing exploration of maternal kleptomania, and your kids are all set: If your family isn’t crazy enough to give them material for their therapists, they can plagiarize scenes from “Bee Season” and keep the psychiatrists scribbling busily.
Myla Goldberg’s original novel was a rich bouquet when it arrived in 2000. A young girl feels a bit lost — not abandoned, just slightly missing — within her own family. Genius dad is preoccupied by his language and theology students, and spends what spare time he has with her older brother. Mom is drifting, stuck between bad memories and an uncertain future.
Eliza suddenly finds she’s good at spelling bees, and can draw her dad’s attention that way. I say suddenly, but the moviemaking here is magical: as Eliza stands at the microphone with her difficult word, letters shimmer in the air, glide from “Exit” signs and grow from the threads of her sweater. It’s a beautiful presentation on the importance of language.
As Eliza finds herself, her brother and mother start to lose themselves. The family wrestles with each issue as it comes, and struggles to stay within sight of their basic values. “Bee Season” will feel like a challenge worth spelling out.
Michael Booth: mbooth@denverpost.com; Twitter: @mboothdp
Rated: PG-13, for mature language and a brief, clothes-on sexual encounter of the parents.
Best suited for: Parents and their teenagers 13 or older, ripe for talks about pressure and staying true.
