A man's overwhelming interest in his exceptional daughter leads to familial discord in this drama. Saul Naumann (Richard Gere) seems to be an ideal father and husband in many respects. A professor of religious studies at the University of California in Berkley, Saul is a deeply spiritual man with an interest in the Kabbalah who spends plenty of time with his family and is devoted to his wife Miriam (Juliette Binoche) and their two children, Aaron (Max Minghella) and Eliza (Flora Cross). But the balance in his life begins to tip when he learns Eliza is a gifted child with a talent for spelling. Eager to help his daughter hone her gifts and fascinated with the way the construction of words fits in with the Kabbalah, Saul begins spending more and more time with Eliza, but in time the young girl begins to emotionally buckle under the weight of her father's attention. Miriam and Aaron also begin to react to Saul's sudden lack of interest in them; Miriam begins exploring other people's houses uninvited, while Aaron develops a passionate interest in the Hindu faith after meeting a beautiful Hare Krishna girl named Chali (Kate Bosworth). Bee Season was adapted from the acclaimed novel of the same name by Myla Goldberg.
