Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Bee Season

  • 2005
  • PG-13
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
7K
YOUR RATING
Bee Season (2005)
Home Video Trailer from 20th Century Fox
Play trailer2:19
13 Videos
25 Photos
DramaFamily

Wife and mother Miriam begins a downward emotional spiral as her husband avoids their collapsing marriage by immersing himself in his 11-year-old daughter's quest to become a spelling-bee ch... Read allWife and mother Miriam begins a downward emotional spiral as her husband avoids their collapsing marriage by immersing himself in his 11-year-old daughter's quest to become a spelling-bee champion.Wife and mother Miriam begins a downward emotional spiral as her husband avoids their collapsing marriage by immersing himself in his 11-year-old daughter's quest to become a spelling-bee champion.

  • Directors
    • Scott McGehee
    • David Siegel
  • Writers
    • Myla Goldberg
    • Naomi Foner
  • Stars
    • Richard Gere
    • Juliette Binoche
    • Flora Cross
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    5.5/10
    7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Scott McGehee
      • David Siegel
    • Writers
      • Myla Goldberg
      • Naomi Foner
    • Stars
      • Richard Gere
      • Juliette Binoche
      • Flora Cross
    • 79User reviews
    • 75Critic reviews
    • 54Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos13

    Bee Season
    Trailer 2:19
    Watch Bee Season
    Bee Season
    Trailer 5:27
    Watch Bee Season
    Bee Season
    Clip 1:07
    Watch Bee Season
    Bee Season
    Clip 1:07
    Watch Bee Season
    Bee Season Scene: I Need You To Come Home Honey
    Clip 1:24
    Watch Bee Season Scene: I Need You To Come Home Honey
    Bee Season Scene: We're All Going To Sacramento
    Clip 1:33
    Watch Bee Season Scene: We're All Going To Sacramento
    Bee Season Scene: Dandelion
    Clip 1:35
    Watch Bee Season Scene: Dandelion
    Bee Season Scene: There's A Girl At The Gate
    Clip 1:09
    Watch Bee Season Scene: There's A Girl At The Gate
    Bee Season Scene: I Can See The Word
    Clip 1:35
    Watch Bee Season Scene: I Can See The Word
    Bee Season Scene: This Is A Beautiful Thing
    Clip 1:07
    Watch Bee Season Scene: This Is A Beautiful Thing
    Bee Season Scene: Don't You Know Your Father
    Clip 0:43
    Watch Bee Season Scene: Don't You Know Your Father
    Bee Season Scene: It's Beautiful, Isn't It
    Clip 1:11
    Watch Bee Season Scene: It's Beautiful, Isn't It

    Photos25

    Richard Gere, Scott McGehee, and David Siegel in Bee Season (2005)
    Juliette Binoche and Flora Cross in Bee Season (2005)
    Richard Gere in Bee Season (2005)
    Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, Max Minghella, and Flora Cross in Bee Season (2005)
    Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, Max Minghella, and Flora Cross in Bee Season (2005)
    Juliette Binoche, Scott McGehee, and David Siegel in Bee Season (2005)
    Max Minghella and Flora Cross in Bee Season (2005)
    Richard Gere and Juliette Binoche in Bee Season (2005)
    Richard Gere and Flora Cross in Bee Season (2005)
    Richard Gere, Max Minghella, and Flora Cross in Bee Season (2005)
    Flora Cross in Bee Season (2005)
    Alec Baldwin at an event for Bee Season (2005)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Gere
    Richard Gere
    • Saul
    Juliette Binoche
    Juliette Binoche
    • Miriam
    Flora Cross
    Flora Cross
    • Eliza
    Max Minghella
    Max Minghella
    • Aaron
    Kate Bosworth
    Kate Bosworth
    • Chali
    Corey Fischer
    Corey Fischer
    • National Spelling Bee Pronouncer
    Sam Zuckerman
    • National Spelling Bee Judge
    Joan Mankin
    • Ms. Bergermeyer
    Piers Mackenzie
    • Dr. Morris
    Lorri Holt
    • Ms. Rai
    Brian Leonard
    • Mr. Julien
    Jamal Thornes
    • Wiseacre Boy's Mate
    Kathy McGraw
    Kathy McGraw
    • Regional Bee Pronouncer
    John Evans
    • Regional Bee Judge
    Alisha Mullally
    Alisha Mullally
    • Young Miriam
    John R. Searle
    • Self
    Seamus Genovese
    • Priest
    Andrew Murray
    • Young Aaron
    • Directors
      • Scott McGehee
      • David Siegel
    • Writers
      • Myla Goldberg
      • Naomi Foner
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Flight of the Red Balloon
    6.5
    Flight of the Red Balloon
    The Kid
    6.1
    The Kid
    Spread Your Wings
    7.3
    Spread Your Wings

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Dakota Fanning was originally supposed to play Eliza, but directors selected Flora Cross because she looked so much more like Juliette Binoche.
    • Goofs
      When Aaron goes to church, after the priest says "This is the Lamb of God...etc" Catholics should answer: "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed". People in the church do not respond to the priest, but go directly to receive Communion, and it is very clear that the ceremony going on is Catholic.
    • Quotes

      Saul: There are people who believe that letters are an expression of a very special primal energy and when they combine to make words they hold all the secrets of the universe...

      Saul: Remember the Vikings?

      Saul: [Takes a green apple] OK, Vikings called this "aepli".

      Saul: Now when they took it across the sea in their ships it became "apfel".

      Saul: Crossed another border, it became "appel".

      Saul: By the time it got to us it was "apple".

      Saul: Its spelling contains all of that.

      Saul: It holds its history inside it.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Episode #2.41 (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      Partita in B Minor BWV 1002 Sarabande
      Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

      Arranged by Peter Nashel and Patrick Zimmerli

      Performed by Tim Fain and Inbal Segev

    User reviews79

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    E-l-i-z-a
    If there is a novel that doesn't lend itself for cinematic adaptation, "Bee Season", written by Myla Goldberg, would seem to be the one. It doesn't help that the screen play, as written by the talented Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, doesn't help to clarify for the casual viewer what is going on with the Naumanns of Oakland. In fact, the problem in the novel, as well as with the movie is Miriam, the distant mother who has fled reality and lives in a world of her own.

    "Bee Season" co-directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel feels empty because the somber treatment they have given to the movie. The dark cinematography of Giles Nuttgens doesn't help either, but the musical scores of Peter Nasher works well, as a whole.

    One enters the Naumann world through the sensitive Eliza, a girl much older and wiser than her 11 years indicate. It is Eliza who senses all that is wrong with her family, as it appears they are falling apart in front of her, and as a little girl, she simply can't do anything at all to bring everyone together. As a way to escape the unhappy home, Eliza immerses herself in the spelling bee contests in which she excels. Not until then, does she get the attention of her father, who supports her newly found talent.

    Saul, the religious studies professor, doesn't even come aware about what's wrong with his marriage until it's too late. In fact, he is a man appears to be unable to communicate with the illusive Miriam, a woman who is deeply disturbed by what happened in her own life with the tragedy of her parents death. Saul and Miriam's marriage is over, but they don't do anything to correct the situation. Miriam's problems come to a head when she is taken away and makes Saul confront the many issues that he probably never dealt with before.

    Aaron, the older son, is rebelling against his own religion. He needs to experiment with other beliefs because he is at that stage of his life in which he is trying to find out who he is. That is why when he meets Chali, the young Hare Krishna follower, he decides to follow her in his quest for finding a guidance for his life.

    The ensemble playing is dominated by the youngest cast member, Flora Cross, who makes a luminous Eliza. Her expressive eyes and her intelligence tells everything about her. Juliette Binoche's Miriam is a puzzle. Richard Gere does what he can with Saul and Max Minghella has some good moments as Aaron. Kate Bosworth is seen briefly as Chali.

    "Bee Season" is a difficult film to sit through because it is a dark look into a family falling apart without a safety net. Also, the way the film has been promoted gives a false impression about its content.
    helpful•87
    24
    • jotix100
    • Nov 20, 2005

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 23, 2005 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Germany
    • Official sites
      • Fox Searchlight (United States)
      • Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite
    • Languages
      • English
      • Hebrew
    • Also known as
      • Umut mevsimi
    • Filming locations
      • 1075 Mariposa Avenue, Berkeley, California, USA(home)
    • Production companies
      • Bee Season Productions Inc.
      • Searchlight Pictures
      • Bona Fide Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $14,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,180,560
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $120,544
      • Nov 13, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $6,856,989
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Bee Season (2005)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Bee Season (2005) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.