Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards 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
  • 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

  • 20052005
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
6.9K
YOUR RATING
Bee Season (2005)
Home Video Trailer from 20th Century Fox
Play trailer2:19
4 Videos
24 Photos
  • Drama
  • Family
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.
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
6.9K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Scott McGehee
    • David Siegel
  • Writers
    • Myla Goldberg(novel)
    • Naomi Foner(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Richard Gere
    • Juliette Binoche
    • Flora Cross
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Scott McGehee
    • David Siegel
  • Writers
    • Myla Goldberg(novel)
    • Naomi Foner(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Richard Gere
    • Juliette Binoche
    • Flora Cross
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 76User reviews
    • 76Critic reviews
    • 54Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos4

    Bee Season
    Trailer 2:19
    Bee Season
    Bee Season
    Trailer 5:27
    Bee Season
    Bee Season
    Clip 1:07
    Bee Season
    Bee Season
    Clip 1:07
    Bee Season

    Photos24

    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
    • Saulas Saul
    Juliette Binoche
    Juliette Binoche
    • Miriamas Miriam
    Flora Cross
    Flora Cross
    • Elizaas Eliza
    Max Minghella
    Max Minghella
    • Aaronas Aaron
    Kate Bosworth
    Kate Bosworth
    • Chalias Chali
    Corey Fischer
    Corey Fischer
    • National Spelling Bee Pronounceras National Spelling Bee Pronouncer
    Sam Zuckerman
    • National Spelling Bee Judgeas National Spelling Bee Judge
    Joan Mankin
    • Ms. Bergermeyeras Ms. Bergermeyer
    Piers Mackenzie
    • Dr. Morrisas Dr. Morris
    Lorri Holt
    • Ms. Raias Ms. Rai
    Brian Leonard
    • Mr. Julienas Mr. Julien
    Jamal Thornes
    • Wiseacre Boy's Mateas Wiseacre Boy's Mate
    Kathy McGraw
    Kathy McGraw
    • Regional Bee Pronounceras Regional Bee Pronouncer
    John Evans
    • Regional Bee Judgeas Regional Bee Judge
    Alisha Mullally
    Alisha Mullally
    • Young Miriamas Young Miriam
    John R. Searle
    • Selfas Self
    Seamus Genovese
    • Priestas Priest
    Andrew Murray
    • Young Aaronas Young Aaron
    • Directors
      • Scott McGehee
      • David Siegel
    • Writers
      • Myla Goldberg(novel)
      • Naomi Foner(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Henry & Me
    6.1
    Henry & Me
    Flight of the Red Balloon
    6.5
    Flight of the Red Balloon
    Moritz in der Litfaßsäule
    7.3
    Moritz in der Litfaßsäule

    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 reviews76

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    A movie untrue to its novel
    It's true.. the book is always better than the movie. I thought that this movie was very disappointing to watch after having reading the book.

    The movie moves too fast, though I can understand because of time limit, to actually give the viewers the concepts that the book gives. A lot of details and events are cut from the book that is important to the story as a whole. The script seems undeveloped, and the actors/actresses carried out their character with mediocre performances.

    Saul (Richard Gere) is somewhat true to his character. The only thing he is obsessed with is to enable Eliza to communicate with God. He does this in a way that is the most true to novel.

    Aaron's (Max Minghella) appearance is very different from that described in the book. He is described as a pale and scrawny young man, who is incapable of getting dates and is a social outcast. His search for a new religion seems unreasonable and spontaneous in the movie, and I thought it didn't really capture his true character.

    Miriam's (Julliete) kleptomania is weird in both the book and the movie. Her actions in the book seems more reasonable when I knew her purposes for doing it. In the movie I thought it was a very random thing for her to do.

    Eliza (Flora Cross) is a young actress, and is limited to what she can do. Her acting is very mediocre at best, and does not convince me of Eliza that is in the novel.

    Chali, which I am surprised to see, have been transformed from a middle-aged man into a young blond girl. I can understand why they did that, but that just adds to the falseness of Aaron's character.

    Overall I think the movie is an average depiction of Bee Season. I can't say that they did a nice job of sticking to the plot. It's almost impossible to transform a novel into a movie with everything in the book.
    helpful•1
    0
    • vietboi612
    • May 24, 2007

    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
    • Production companies
      • Bee Season Productions Inc.
      • Fox 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

    View list
    List
    Editors' Picks: What to Watch Now on Netflix
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    The Best Movies Coming This Summer
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.