One to make Madonna Blanch

Swishly directed and shot, Bee Season has Richard Gere as an obsessive father whose attempt to teach his daughter the secrets of the Kabbalah would make Madonna blanch.

The girl keeps on winning spelling contests (hence the title) but it is all too much for her. Both his wife (Juliette Binoche) and his son (Max Minghella) are also badly affected by his obsessive conduct.

The acting is fine. But this is a case of a very smooth film which needs far more rough edges to get its point home successfully.

Bee Season
Cert: cert12A