Skip to main content

Movie Review: The Secret Life of Bees

Movie Review: The Secret Life of Bees, based on the story by Sue Monk Kidd

I first read this story about a year after it had come out. I was working at Barnes and Noble and had seen the book on the Bestsellers End-Cap for a long time and had never given it a second glance until a customer who bought it from me was telling me it was one of the most touching stories about love she had ever read. So, without much prodding after that, I picked it up, and loved it.
When I heard a movie version was coming out, I was thrilled, and although I knew I wouldn't make it to the movies, I saved it for myself on Netflix. Let me prelude by saying that I loved all the actresses in this movie (and actors, too, although it is mostly about women) and had seen them in other roles that I liked, and had won them Oscars.
Queen Latifa, Alicia Keys (!), Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, and Sophie Okonedo all did a spectacular job, and by the end of the movie, each one holds a lot of respect in the viewers' eyes. The story is about a little girl who is very lonely and lives with a secret that makes her feel unlovable. She desperately tries to find out about her mother (who died when she was 4 years old), by running away from home and finding a house that matches the picture in the precious few items she has of her mother's left. She stays with the three sisters, August, June, and May ("our mother loved summertime") and throughout the story finds more than just about her history, she finds the motherly love she has been longing for.
I really liked this story because there is nothing genuinely awful in it. That sounds strange, but I hate movies with unnecessary violence, bad dialogue/acting, and lots of sex and gore. This was a family film, but had many redemptive qualities. There is some adult issues including civil rights issues and depression, but a teenager would really like this movie, and it would be beneficial to watch at that age. Any age below would probably not enjoy or understand a lot of it.

This movie even got Stefan's approval because all of the characters were so respectable and genuine, a must for him.

4.5 out of 5 stars, even the soundtrack was awesome! Definitely see this movie!


photocredit






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Home School Activities: Board Games We Love

My children have recently become enthralled in the world of board games. I was never a board game player. Sure, I remember long summer hours (days? it seemed like it..) spent around a Monopoly board, but I was never one to suggest to get out the cards, or a game. As my children have grown and they are now able to do activities with me, I started noticing that they really took to puzzles (when done all together) and the one or two board games I happened to have kept in the storage room. They were always asking to play Candy Land and so I figured I should branch off a bit. Over the course of the last year, I have found GREAT games, even ones that I love to play alongside them. The amount of 'teaching' they have gotten through games is jaw-dropping. Counting, team-playing, math related patterning, are just some of the skills I've watched develop. I asked before Christmas on facebook what my friends and their own kids loved and I was thrilled with the response. We have found ov

July Reads

Birch Bay Sunset, rainbow hues July has been hot out here. When you live in the top story of an apartment building, and there's no air conditioning, it can feel just over the needle of uncomfortably warm when the day is above 76 degrees. We've kept blinds shut, windows open, and a fan continually blowing as it's perched in our living room window well. Just about the only thing I feel like doing after a long day is laying on the couch straight in the fan's air circulation path, and read a good book. I had some unique picks this month. * #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso  This book was just plain fun to read. Amoruso developed the iconic ebay store NastyGal way back when vintage selling on ebay was a thing. Now she's a millionaire with a kicking website that she started from scratch and didn't owe a dime to anyone else for. It's a great 200 pager with stories on dumpster diving for daily food, entrepreneurship tips, and being the backwards kid that no one t

Top 10 Books of 2017

early sunset in Ft Langley  I love reading all these "Top 10" lists of favorite books read throughout the year, so I'm adding my two cents.  I'm involved in a Book Club that I love with women from our church, a small group that meets every week and goes through a book every few months, my own list, books I'm reading aloud to the kids and  books I'm reading for educational purposes (think professional development). I took a look at all of those combined and this is what I got, in no particular order:  *  The Problem of God  by Mark Clark - I loved going through this academic apologetic book with my friends from church. It led us to great discussion, and good food for thought. I listen to Clark's sermons every week and so knew I'd probably love his writing style, too. If you have objections to Christianity, or are feeling confused about what to believe, this is a great primer.  * You're Smarter Than You Think  by Dr. Thomas Armstron