Bee Season (2005): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2005, Bee Season is a drama and family film directed by David Siegel, running about 104 minutes.

What it’s about. 11-year-old Eliza is the invisible element of her family unit: her parents are both consumed with work and her brother 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. 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, Eliza looks on as a new secret of her family's hidden turmoil seems to be revealed with each new word she spells.

Who’s in it. Bee Season stars Richard Gere as Saul, Flora Cross as Eliza, Max Minghella as Aaron and Kate Bosworth as Chali, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.2/10, Bee Season has proved divisive with audiences. It went on to earn $6.9M at the box office.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Bee Season page.

If you liked it. Fans of Bee Season tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.