by Doris E Rufli

Created on: October 30, 2008

Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah in one and the same movie. Reason enough to go and see it really. Then take the premise of the story being set in 1964 the verge of black people officially being allowed to vote in the States and legally and politically seen as equal to white people. This, of course, did not sit well with some of the folk desperately wanting to feel superior to something and/or someone sadly, this is still the case in today's society!

The Secret Life of Bees opens in a simple house with teenager Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) about to turn fourteen. She has a vision of bees visiting her and is fascinated by it but is tormented at the same time by nightmares about a violent incident ten years earlier during which her mother was killed. Lily now lives with her controlling father Ray (Paul Bettany) and caregiver/housekeeper Rosaleen Daise (Jennifer Hudson), secretly worshipping her late mother Deborah (Hilarie Burton).

Rosaleen convinces Ray to let Lily accompany her to town on the teenager's actual birthday instead of selling peaches on the farm where he works. With voting fast approaching three bullies question Rosaleen whether she will be casting her vote, trying to intimidate both and ridiculing particularly the young black woman by claiming she was probably to dumb to read or write anyway. Rosaleen's defiance infuriates the bullies, one of which restrains Lily while the other two beat up on the black woman. Nobody around intervenes although the police eventually show up arresting Rosaleen for not apologising to her tormentor, having sprayed his boots and pants with her drink while spelling out her name on the ground in front of his feet. This is the last straw for the teenager. She decides to run away from her own hell, springing Rosaleen from hospital and taking off.

They eventually end up at the house of the Boatwright siblings after being intrigued by a honey jar boasting a black Madonna holding a black infant. The three sisters are very different from one another. August (Queen Latifah) is the mothering intermediary insisting on taking Lily and Rosaleen in despite wondering just what they are actually running from. June (Alicia Keys) is determined to go her own way, be her own woman and obviously harbouring a lot of anger which also seems to make her keep refusing the marriage proposals of her beau Neil (Nate Parker) whom she is so obviously in love with. Finally, there is sweet and innocent May (Sophie Okonedo), broken emotionally since her twin sister April died, but she is also the source of a lot of love and laughter positively influencing her environment.

A very moving feature with a poignant message based in a difficult, coming of age time of black people and the first true intermingling of black and white folk. It also demonstrates that there are, always have been and always will be those who can accept people the way they are, no matter what the colour of their skin, their beliefsystem or background and that is a most positive, inspiring and promising outlook.

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