Spellbound

Martyn set up a challenge when we met up recently to buy one DVD for each other that we thought the other hadn't seen but would love. 20 minutes later after scouring every shelf of Virgin Megastore Middlesbrough I decided on Shattered Glass for him as I knew he wouldn't have chosen to watch it but would love it (still awaiting feedback). For me he chose Spellbound, which we had talked about, but I hadn't seen. I was definitely curious about why it had been winning so many awards, and upon watching I can understand it: it is a wonderful little piece of real life drama and a great insight into both a cross-section of American childhood and a phenomenon little known about this side of the pond. You find yourself rooting for all of the kids, who have different reasons for doing it and different degrees of pressure to win. It makes best use of the natural tensions and translates them through the screen brilliantly, making it hard to predict the eventual champion and delighting you when all is revealed. The real secret to this documentary is its lack of cynicism, where the subject would make it easy to judge - it promotes education and celebrates childhood, choosing never to mock, only to observe. Beautiful. 8/10 Kx