Akeelah and the Bee / United 93

Akeelah and the Bee is an unabashedly feel-good film about a young black girl’s journey to the National Spelling Bee. It faithfully follows most clichés of underdog sports films but still manages to strike a chord because of its likeable characters, simple storytelling and positive message.

The Spelling Bee has been criticized in many places (including this blog) as an essentially useless contest that promotes blind memorization of words that the contestants are unlikely to use in the future. But the film treats competing in it as a learning experience that helps a child achieve self-confidence and develop a love of words. It is seen as a positive experience with the parents, barring one, supportive of their children in victory or defeat.

And that is not the only aspect where the film adopts a positive outlook. This is a film where a rich, white boy and a poor, black girl can be friends without race or social status coming into the picture. And even the gang members living in Akeelah’s neighborhood are good.

Such underdog films usually have only 1 of 2 endings. One of them is predictable while the other boosts the protagonist’s image at the expense of others around him/her. But Akeelah and the Bee manages to surprise us by choosing a third path. By doing so, it generates a little more(though admittedly, not much) suspense than usual and does so in an exhilarating manner. This story arc also allows the film to prove that everybody has some good in them.

------------------------

Equally good but at the other end of the feel-good scale is United 93, which portrays what could have happened on the one flight that did not make it to its destination on 9/11. It is a gripping, chilling film that is doubly effective because it narrates a true story that is still fresh in our minds.

We’ve usually heard the phrase “like a documentary” used in a derogatory manner when referring to movies. But United 93 is one of the movies where that phrase could be considered a compliment. By avoiding the usual cinematic accoutrements that accompany movies like this, the director gives us the feeling that we are watching things unfold exactly as they happened. There are no unnecessary heroics or theatrics and people do just what ordinary people will probably do when caught in a do-or-die situation like that.

While knowing the ending usually spoils a film, the tragic nature of the ending here adds a new dimension to the viewing experience. We know what the characters in the film do not. So as the flight gets delayed on the runway or chaos reigns in the control center, the film evokes strong emotions since we know what is going to happen but are just mute witnesses and are completely powerless to prevent it. Fully aware of how the movie will proceed, I still found myself involuntarily hoping that the flight gets grounded or the pilots get to hear about the WTC before taking off or the passengers subdue the terrorists before it is too late.

United 93 is an unforgettable film about one of the things that happened on an unforgettable day.