It’s been a lackluster five months at the movies — for narrative-driven features, at least. Thank goodness we have documentaries to get us through while the studios ready their fall Oscar contenders. Several docs have already been released in 2003, including Blind Spot: Hitler’s Secretary, Shanghai Ghetto, Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky In Our Time and Fellini: I’m a Born Liar, with others (Stevie, Capturing the Friedmans, Camp, Only the Strong Survive, Love and Diane) still to come. All have their attributes, though some (Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time, Stone Reader) are obvious standouts.

Add Winged Migration and Spellbound to the list of standouts. Both were nominated for the 2002 Best Documentary Feature Academy Award alongside Michael Moore’s career-defining Bowling for Columbine (the ultimate winner). It’s easy to see why: each is an outstanding example of the genre.

Jacques Perrin’s Winged Migration is an exquisitely photographed look at the migration of several species of birds from 40 countries and all seven continents. Shot by 14 cinematographers with an assist from 17 pilots and more than 400 crew members, it contains some truly awe-inspiring images of birds in flight, captured in an unusually intimate fashion by special cameras operated inside various balloons, helicopters and other flying machinery. Making the movie brought Perrin (who also directed 1996’s Microcosmos, the acclaimed documentary about the world of insects) and his co-workers “within striking distance of the stars,” as he so eloquently puts it in the film’s press kit.

Winged Migration’s flaws are few, and easily forgiven. It seems short (90 minutes, including credits), especially considering it was filmed over a four-year period. (Perhaps I just didn’t want it to end.) Though no FX were used, a few shots (like a bird with a damaged wing who appears to be consumed by hungry sand crabs) were manipulated or staged for dramatic effect — not a good idea when you’re striving for objectivity. I also would have excised Perrin’s sparse but unnecessary English narration (subtitles would have sufficed), as well as the goopy Euro-pop songs that clutter the soundtrack. Happily, what stays with you are the numerous breathtaking shots of our fine feathered friends as they make their way across every type of terrain to reach their destination, only to turn back after food runs out to make the trip all over again. As the Mrs. Bundy character says in Hitchcock’s The Birds, “birds bring beauty into the world.” Winged Migration magnificently illustrates that truth.

If you’re a person who depends on Spell Check to keep you from sounding like an uneducated dolt, you’ll surely appreciate Spellbound, Jeff Blitz’s engrossing profile of eight junior-high students who compete against 241 other 14-year-olds for the top spot (and $10,000) at the annual National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Non-judgmental, nicely paced and surprisingly funny (one regional winner invited to the nationals is congratulated via the marquee at a local Hooters), we watch as the kids cram for hours at a time for the spell-off (often with the help of their overzealous parents), discuss their feelings of success and failure, and spell words most of us can’t even pronounce. First-time director Blitz, a former debate champion who knows what it’s like to endure academic pressure, has chosen an ethnically and economically diverse group of youngsters — April, Neil, Nupur, Harry, Ashley, Angela, Ted and Emily (back for her third national) — to show us the blood, sweat and tears that go into training for the bee, which is now televised on ESPN as if it were an athletic sporting event (which it is, when you think about it). As seven of the featured contestants learn, winning isn’t everything; sometimes just making the final cut can give you a lifetime of wonderful memories.

Winged Migration and Spellbound are currently playing at Landmark’s Hillcrest Cinemas, and the Ken Theatre (respecively) For information and tickets call (619) 299-2100.