The Secret Life of Bees
Rated PG-13 for thematic material and some violence.
reviewed by Kevin Glenn
If you're looking for a movie that will lead you to a deep conversation about pain and hope, tragedy and redemption, "The Secret Life of Bees" will give you plenty to buzz about.
The Story
"The Secret Life of Bees" is set in 1964 South Carolina at the height of the Civil Rights movement. Lily (Dakota Fanning) is a 14-year-old girl who is traumatized by the memories of her past, particularly as they relate to her mother's accidental death. Her present life is a nightmare as she struggles to preserve any sense of happiness while living with an abusive father named T-Ray (Paul Bettany).
Lily befriends and confides in her nanny, Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson). After Lily and Rosaleen both experience painful incidents of violence, they choose to escape to a place Lily knows only from a note written on the back of a picture of her mother. There she meets the Boatwright family, which includes August (Queen Latifa), June (Alicia Keys), and May (Sohie Okando). What follows is a moving narrative of redemption, love and hope.
The Verdict
What we thought of the movie on it's own terms
What Works: The power of a good story is what makes us want to go to a movie in the first place, and the cast of this film deliver performances that keep this story from becoming too preachy or sticky-sweet. Queen Latifa offers a warm and joyous presence in the midst of a time riddled with hatred and injustice. And really, how can you not love Queen Latifa? Dakota Fanning blew me away. She carries the burdens of her character with a maturity that makes you genuinely feel what she is going through. She just gets better with each film.
What Doesn't Work: The story does become overly sentimental at times. Also, the amount of screen time given to shots of June and her boyfriend making out seems unnecessary. I get it already. They're a couple.
Content: Lots of potentially offensive language is heard, particularly the use of the n-word and taking God's name in vain. Add to that all the making out and a disturbing scene in which Rosaleen is viciously beaten, and "Bees" earns its PG-13 rating.
Worldview
"The Secret Life of Bees" is full of spiritual and religious ideas, if not biblical ones. The women in August's home practice a kind of churchless, distorted Catholic religion that involves what seems to be the enthusiastic worship of a black Virgin Mary figure.
So many films are based on the premise that "love conquers all." What made this film work so well is found in a line from August. "There is no perfect love," and in this world, she's right. Human love didn't stop much of the injustice of the racially charged 1960's, and love doesn't make the trials and tragedies of today disappear. But real love does give us reason to keep going and keep believing. Even limited human love does cause people to band together and walk with each other. And the love that is shared between people can point us to the one love that is perfect. And that love, God's love, is the love that casts out all fear.
The most potent spiritual theme in "Bees" centers on forgiveness. Lily is running from more than an abusive father. She is running from the memory of a terrible accident that she believes is her fault. The nature of the accident is horrific enough, but the absence of love and care from her father lead her to believe she can never be forgiven or loved.
In a moving scene, Lily collapses under the weight of her guilt as she shares her story with August and repeats as she sobs, "I'm unlovable. I'm unlovable." August explains that love is all around her, and her guilt can be lifted if she will just accept the love that is offered to her.
The Bible makes the same promise more specifically. No matter how deep our sin or how powerful the guilt we bear, the love and forgiveness of Jesus is there to cleanse and renew us. "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong." (1 John 1:9)
For this reviewer, "Bees" proved to be one of the most moving depictions of hope and forgiveness I've seen in a film this year.
Questions:
- How pervasive do you think racism still is in our nation?
- Why do you think so many Christians held or tolerated racist views in the 60s?
- Why do you think it's so hard for people to forgive themselves for wrongdoing?
- If you heard someone like Lily say they were "unloveable," what would you say to give her hope?
- Why does it seem the people with the strongest sense of hope and faith are those who have suffered much pain?
- What did you think of May's "wailing wall"? How do you take your concerns and cares to God?
- Lily took a great risk to travel with Rosaleen, an African-American. August and her sisters risked a great deal to take a white girl into their home. To what extent are you willing to risk the disapproval of others in order to reach out to someone different from you?
