The Secret Life of Bees (DVD, 2009, Checkpoint; Sensormatic; Widescreen)

Lily Owens aka Dakota Fanning is the bee charmer in The Secret Life of Bees. Not really but close. Fanning plays the lead Lily with wide-eyed amazement circa a whole lots of child actors before her- we get it your cute!
Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and Sophie Okonedo also star in this slow but powerful movie based on the best-selling book (of the same name) by Sue Monk Kidd.
No spoilers here but Purple Honey and pure passion for life. This movie will make you laugh and make you cry. Sophie Okonedo stands out as the troubled May who has the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Queen Latifah shines and Alicia Keys is wonderful. Jennifer Hudson is great but Dakota Fanning crying in this movie makes you wonder-- since the tears seem so real-- what a great adult actress she may one day become- this movie puts her one step closer.
The next time you see a bee buzzing around a magical flower- wonder about their secret life- there is symbolism in their somewhere!

I thought this movie was great with so many strong roles. I am a big queen latifah and jennifer hudson fan and dakota fanning as well. I thought it had a great story to tell, and it was told very well.

I loved this one. Couldn't help but see it twice. It was very well acted by the entire cast. Dakota was excellent in this! The emotions in this movie is like a roller coaster...it goes up down and around many times. I thought this film was going to be entirely based on bees, and how they live and such lol, (hence the title), but it's not - don't be fooled. And it's not just a chick flick, guys will like this one also, even if they have to lie.

The Secret Life of Bees is wonderful film about the lives of a little girl, her
friend and the three women go in search of one of these women who can tell her
about Mother. It well written script and beautifully acted by Dakota Fanning,
Queen Latifah , Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Hudson, Alica Keys and marvelous supporting cast. It is a film well worth the watch.

Excellent to watch over and over again. Would recommend for everyone to at least watch the movie to appreciate it.
Queen latifah, Alicia Keys, Dakota Fannings one of my favorites and Jennifer Hudson. Don't remember the character who played May in the movie but I love her character as well.
Thanks
Fisherj13

This is one of the best movies I have ever seen! I rented it and after watching it one time I knew I had to have it in my personal collection. The amazing cast makes you feel the emotions and there are a lot of them, you will laugh, you will cry, but most of all you will see that love comes in all shapes and sizes and it is truly the most important thing!

THIS MOVIES WASNT WHAT I EXPECTED BUT I STILL LIKED IT!!! THE CAST WAS GREAT AND THE STORY LINE WASNT SO BAD... SOPHIE OKONEDO GRABS YOUR HEART IN THIS FILM. THIS MOVIE EMPOWERS BLACK WOMEN AND SHEDS LIGHT ON A FEW ISSUES CONCERNING RACISM AND EQUAL RIGHTS/IT ALSO GOES INTO INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS WHICH MAKES YOU LOOK AT DEKOTA FANNING IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT. SHE HAS COME A LONG WAY FROM THAT LITTLE GIRL WE REMEMBER IN HER OLD MOVIES... KUDO'S TO HER... BUY THIS FILM...

This is an excellent movie. You should have a Kleenex handy it is a tear jerker. You should also read the book.

The Secret Life of Bees stars Dakota Fanning as Lily, a 14-year-old growing up in a small Southern town in 1964. She is haunted by memories of shooting her mother when she was a young girl. She lives with her father and her best friend is their housekeeper. She later sets out to find the place where the onlypicture of her mother was taken. The place is the home of three sisters Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, and Alicia Keys,who make a very successful living producing honey. Lily & the housekeeper move in with the sisters and Lily learns about beekeeping and life.

Features Actors:Dakota Fanning, Paul Bettany, Jennifer Hudson, Sophie Okonedo, Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah & Tristan Wilds.
Running Time: 110 Min.
Rating: PG-13


In 1964 South Carolina, 14-year-old Lily (Dakota Fanning, War of the Worlds) lives with her abusive father (Paul Bettany, A Beautiful Mind) and the memory of a tragic accident that took her mother away. When their housekeeper Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls) is severely beaten on her way to register to vote, Lily rescues her and the pair run away. Guided by a scrap of paper left by her mother, they end up at the bright pink house of the Boatwright sisters—May (Sophie Okonedo, Hotel Rwanda), June (Alicia Keys, The Nanny Diaries), and August (Queen Latifah, Last Holiday)—who run a local honey farm. While Rosaleen bonds with the emotionally fragile May, Lily earns their keep by helping August with the bees. She grows fond of fellow worker Zach (Tristan Wilds, The Wire), a boy who dreams of defying racial expectations by someday becoming a lawyer. But when he and Lily leave the safety of the farm to see a movie together, they get a nasty reminder that the world outside is a dangerous place.




The Secret Life of Bees oozes with symbolism as thick as August's honey. Lily and Rosaleen blossom and grow like their namesake flowers—flowers like the ones that attract the bees kept by sisters named for the spring and summer months when bees are most productive. As for those title insects—so resourceful, industrious, dangerous, and fragile—bees come to stand in the story for everything from individual characters to the Civil Rights movement itself. Within the safety of their bright pink hive, Lily, Rosaleen, and the Boatwright women live and work in close community. Outside, however, there is danger from angry parents and racist Southerners who'd rather swat than get stung by change. Maternal imagery pops up everywhere, too, underscoring Lily's search for the truth about her mother—on honey labels, as a carved wooden statue, and in the relationships forged between Lily and her surrogate mothers.
The Secret Life of Bees is an uplifting tale of empowerment and self-determination, but it treads some well-worn ground. Films set against the backdrop of the struggle for civil rights carry an important message, but they also carry dramatic baggage that makes it hard to evaluate each on their own merit. The same is true of coming-of-age stories.

Fall in love all over with the movie version of Sue Monk Kidd's Secret life of Bees book.If you love this book you'll love to watch it come alive!Hope this helps you decide.Thanks for reading! :)

Yes, I liked it because it was a good wholesome story of bonding beyond bloodlines but through a unique sisterhood of compassion, intelligence, independence and being strongwilled in adversity. It was an interesting storyline to see successful black entrepreneurs in the honey business. The actresses were very good in the roles that they portrayed in the movie. I was pleased with the content of this movie because there was no hardcore subject matter which was prevalent. This was a great movie which expelled a positive spirit.

During a time of predjudice, a young girl suffers abuse from her father and is plagued with nightmares due to the guilt of earlier accidentally killing her mother. She soon escapes the clutches of her abusive father and rescues her friend and housekeeper from the clutches of the law whom had just recently beaten her up due to predjudice and hatred. Together they run far away to a house where they find peace and protection and where the girl find answers to questions that have haunted her regarding her mother, and where they both found a newfound life of security amidst a family of sisters who cares for bees.
This movie is one that most everyone would love to see. It is filled with every emotion, including that of being brave, love, joy, peace, fear, anger, romance, predjudice, pride and victory. This movie was intelligently put together and well thought-out. All of its actors were excellent in playing their roles.
See for yourself and you will agree. I highly recommend viewing it!

Excellent all around movie. Bought movie for my grand children to see. **************************************************************************************************************************************************************

I loved this movie. Queen Latifah, truly is talented & really shines in a part you wouldn't think she could possibly play. This truly is...The Secret Life of Bees...Queen Bees each & every single one of these ladies are in this beautiful movie. This movies is as heart-warming as Ya-Ya Sisterhood & comes together in a warm, fulfilling & complete way. I highly recommend to gals & guys (if they have the nerve) to watch it...

I rented this movie when it came out and really enjoyed. Good story. Excellent acting. Would highly recommend this movie. Really good price for a new release.

If you haven't already read the book then I suggest you read it before seeing the movie. This is exactly how I pictured the movie to be. IT WAS BRILLANT! They picked a great cast for this movie! AMAZING!!!! WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

We had seen this film on TV and liked it so much we decided to buy it so we could watch it over and over.

GREAT ensemble cast, just a FANTASTIC story! A MUST SEE movie for everyone!!! HIGHEST recommendation!!!!!!!!! FIVE Stars!!!!!

I bought this DVD "The Life of Bees" because i read the novel and it was really a great book. Have not watched the DVD yet but heard it was good.

Great overall story with several mini storylines built in. Well written and well acted. A good feel good movie, but not too sappy. Would highly recommend it - that's the reason I purchased it for my own library!

Movie was ok. Little slow but very powerfull. Not the movie to end a weekend of movies @ home but a great movie to throw into the middle of a stay @ home weekend.I bought to movie because of a trailer I saw. I like Dakota and Queen L.I don't think you will be diapointed as long as you know what you are gettng into. 0-10 I give this a 8. Happy viewing.

I love this movie almost as much as I liked the book. The story line and details are pretty much the same as far as I can tell. The actresses/actors did a great job and were cast very well! I will watch this movie over and over. The plot line is gripping, but never over-dramatic. If you are looking for a sweet movie and maybe a bit of a tear-jerker, this is the one for you. The tone is good-natured, but conquers social issues and family problems and can be very relate-able. The Southern mood is likely to make you a little bit happier! A+

The item got here fast and the seller delivered on the item that was described in the bidding. I would buy from this seller again. Only thing was that i really did not get communication as much as I would have liked to get!

Excellent movie with wonderful character's played by wonderful actors-very touching heart warming movie-I absolutely loved it!!! A must see movie!!!