Fans of honeybees and storytelling who’ve been waiting for the film version of Sue Monk Kidd’s 2002 best-selling novel, The Secret Life of Bees, will be happy to hear it opens in theatres today.
Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily’s fierce-hearted black “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racist in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina — a town that hold the secret to her mother’s past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.
“Honey-sweet but never cloying,” said Publisher’s Weekly of the novel — “a hive’s worth of appealing female characters, an offbeat plot and a lovely style.”
The movie adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. It stars Queen Latifah as the deeply wise beekeeper August Boatwright, with Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo as her sisters — the three women who give shelter to runaways Lily (Dakota Fanning) and Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), at risk of their own peace and safety.
Cast members had to go to “bee school” to learn how to handle the colonies who were their co-stars — so we’ll be very curious to see if the portrayal of hive life and beekeeping is any more realistic in The Secret Life of Bees than in other recent films.
Written by beekeepers
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