Eleri and I sat down to watch the 2005 film Bees Season the other night on DVD. Based on a novel by Myla Goldberg, it didn't do too well at the box office, I believe. I think that is understandable given the subject matter, although it was not without merit.
Richard Gere is the central figure a Cabbalistic Jewish father who lectures in the university on the subject. His daughter a feels untalented and neglected by him but is eager to catch his attention. She eventually does this through her ability to win spelling bees. Her father sees her gift as a possible route into mystical union with God, and pushes her hard in that direction, while she simply wants his love. Meanwhile the older son, who has been closer to his father drifts away from him to the point of an open rift, provoked chiefly by his secret alliance with an attractive young girl who is a devotee of Hinduism. The fourth member of the family is the French former Catholic mother who lost her parents in a tragic accident, played by Juliette Binoche. She is the most mysterious of the four. It eventually becomes apparent that she is suffering some sort of mental breakdown. In her case the desire to please her husband and fulfil his mystic dream is a factor but instead of it drawing him to her as she hopes, it only repels him.
So, an enjoyable film for me, touching on spelling (I couldn't resist attempting every one of the many words given to be spelled) and religion. Quite what the film is saying is difficult to be sure but it is certainly intense and disturbing and to me a reminder that religion itself is divisive rather than a force for cohesion. Bad teaching will have a deleterious effect in the end.
Great for provoking discussion.
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