Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2004
Spellbound, posted at 11:55 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com So a few weeks ago I went on a spending spree at Blockbuster. I normally cannot stand the store, but decided to check out their previously viewed DVDs, since my lsat visit to Soundgarden was a tad disappointing. I bought Spellbound, Master & Commander, The Hours, and Adaptation. I've never seen the first two, and have the last two and thought they were excellent. They were all between $5.99 and $7.99, so I thought it was worth it, even if I hated the the first two, which I didn't expect to because they had gotten good reviews and such.The thing is, I rarely sit down and watch a movie at home. My TV goes weeks without turning on, partially due to my lack of cable and partially because I can watch my baseball games on the computer. I get jittery when I watch movies at home, easily distracted by the computer or those stacks of CDs that need to be put back in their cases or the dog panting in my face.
But I settled down enough today to watch Spellbound. Wow. I really enjoyed this film, more than I ever imagined I would. I was really rooting for this tall Indian kid. His parents were crazy about his studies for the National Spelling Bee, hiring coaches from different languages and spending hours a day on it. At first, I hated it. I thought they were being a little too crazy about it all. But, then, the dad said something that stuck with me, saying something about putting in 100% even if it about something as seemingly inconsequential as spelling, and working hard no matter what because without hard work and knowing you've done everything you could, then it's not worth anything. He seemed to really be about the process, not the results, and that's cool. I'm working on my course syllabi right now, and it's the type of knowledge that I hope to impart on my students.
All the kids were cool, though. And the families - eclectic, diverse, inspiring - were entertaining. I laughed a bunch (Bill says to me, "You sure are having fun over there, aren't you?"), and, towards the end, I even teared up a bit. A very well done movie, intense and comical and engrossing.
I need to finish "The Island of Dr. Moreau" tonight, so I'm off. That book is so silly, but it's kind of good. I just can't seem to read it for any longer than twenty minutes at a time. I'm trying to imagine which character Brando played in the recent film version of it that's supposed to be horrible.