Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Spelling the Dream

Play trailer Poster for Spelling the Dream 2020 Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
92% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings

Critics Reviews

View More
Udita Jhunjhunwala Scroll.in 12/09/2020
The documentary holds strong because the children are impressive and the competition is a window into a peculiar tradition that, quizzically, enjoys "sports" status. Go to Full Review
Robert Levin Newsday 06/08/2020
2.5/4
There is plenty to like about "Spelling the Dream," an affecting documentary with admirable ambitions. But it tries to be a sports movie, a multicharacter study, a work of sociological inquiry and a history piece all in the span of 82 minutes. Go to Full Review
Tim Cogshell FilmWeek (LAist) 06/06/2020
I absolutely adored this movie. Go to Full Review
Mark Meszoros The News-Herald (Willoughby, OH) 02/28/2021
2.5/4
While Spelling the Dream doesn't quite pack the engaging punch of that work and some of the other best documentaries of the last several years, it is wholly entertaining and informative in its own right. Go to Full Review
Alex Bentley CultureMap 02/08/2021
Spelling the Dream makes the case that, due to their upbringing and other factors, Indian Americans know the value of hard work and what will come because of it. There is rarely anything more inspiring than that. Go to Full Review
Carla Hay Culture Mix 07/21/2020
The film also has a lot to say about how the work ethic that goes into preparing for these contests is a reflection of how several Indian immigrant families feel about their cultural pride and the American Dream. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
spencer p @s_plewe 02/03/2021 A great showcase for learners of all ages and backgrounds of pushing your mental boundaries and productive goal-setting. See more yash b 08/19/2020 "Spelling the Dream" is a documentary that is interesting enough but also one that is very investing. It is a well-known statistic that Indian Americans have dominated spelling bees in the last few decades, and this movie does a good job exploring that. I liked seeing this sort of representation pop up on Netflix and thought the movie left me in a good mood. I felt like the movie could have explored some things even more in-depth, but as a whole, it did a solid job keeping my interest. What works really well about this movie is how it made me genuinely care about all of the efforts of the talented youth involved. Overall, this is a movie that made me proud to be an Indian American and invested me more than I anticipated. See more 06/24/2020 I am generally not fond of documentaries but this is a good one. Interesting to watch and you get caught up in it. All the kids were wonderful. I could not take my eyes off of it. See more 06/24/2020 A good insightful documentary. It was incredible to see these Indian American kids put so many hours and so disciplined. Great to see some of these kids have other activities apart from academics. Good character study of four kids. See more 06/24/2020 A fabulous documentary of real people. It is fun and intense documentary to see who is finally going to win. Really loved this movie. See more 06/13/2020 Don't miss Spelling the Dream on Netflix. Friends recommended this movie, truly inspirational! Highly recommend if you haven't seen it. See more Read all reviews
Spelling the Dream

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
We Don't Deserve Dogs 100% 89% We Don't Deserve Dogs Watchlist Feels Good Man 95% 82% Feels Good Man Watchlist TRAILER for Feels Good Man El Father Plays Himself 100% % El Father Plays Himself Watchlist The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show 75% % The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show Watchlist TRAILER for The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show Robin's Wish 89% 89% Robin's Wish Watchlist TRAILER for Robin's Wish Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Director
Sam Rega
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 3, 2020