|PIC1|From the outset, it’s clear that The Secret Life of Bees is not a film for those who believe movie-watching is nothing more than a spectator sport.

The film opens with scenes of a violent struggle between a husband and his wife, all witnessed by their young daughter. A gunshot sounds and the main protagonist of the film, 14-year-old Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning), cuts in to tell us that she was just four-years-old when she accidentally shot and killed her mother.

Adding to her emotional burden is the fact that her mother was in the middle of leaving Lily’s father, T Ray, when she was shot. Lily suffers a great blow when her dad tells her that her mother had returned that day only to collect her things, not Lily.

While T Ray vents his grief out in expressions of anger and cruelty to Lily, she desperately clings to the few possessions of her mother that she secretly has buried in the fruit orchard at the back of the house – a pair of gloves, a picture, and an odd wooden image of a black Virgin Mary.

When her caretaker and friend Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) is the victim of a brutal race attack, Lily hatches a plan for them to escape to the town written on the portrait of the black Virgin Mary.

Once there, they discover the image of the black Virgin Mary on jars of honey made locally by the Boatwright sisters – May (Alicia Keys), June (Sophie Okonedo) and August (Queen Latifah). The two runaways head to the sisters’ Pepto-Bismol-pink house where they are allowed to stay, and it’s there that Lily finally finds the love and sense of belonging she has searched her whole life to find.

What is so impressive about this film is the vigour with which director Gina Prince-Bythewood deals with the aches, breaks and joys of love. This film is sure to pull on heartstrings you didn’t even know you had.

Ultimately T Ray is devoured by feelings of anguish over the decision of Lily’s mother to leave him, anguish he pours into expressions of anger and hatred towards the one thing that could have provided a much needed antidote to his pain – Lily. T Ray’s inability to forgive and find comfort in giving comfort to his daughter has a devastating impact on Lily, who is forced to live with guilt and self-blame for the next 10 years.

What she finds in the Boatwrights is the unconditional, tender love she should have received from her father and with it, freedom from the torture she feels over being responsible for her mother’s death. In one of the most emotionally charged scenes in the whole film, Lily breaks down in front of the wise and warm-hearted August and blurts out “I’m unlovable” – a sentiment that would undoubtedly hit a note with more than a few people in the audience.

Although the movie touches on spirituality, it is not a Christian movie – the Boatwrights worship and pray to a wooden black Madonna statue. Yet, the film still wonderfully draws out some heavyweight themes that will resonate well with Christians, such as the search for forgiveness and belonging, loving and being loved, and the chance to start all over again regardless of what has come before.

The contrast between T Ray and Lily is a particularly interesting one and reflects the choices that we all have to make in learning how to deal with life’s unexpected trials and heartaches. While T Ray shows all too starkly the self-destruction and rage that can consume a hurt soul that seeks no healing, Lily perseveres on the long and unpredictable road to recovery and discovers at its end the redemptive power of love and its ability to restore even the most broken of souls. The ending is, therefore, a happy one that should leave the audience with a real sense of hope.

The film sure packs an emotional punch as it punctuates some beautiful glossy coloured scenes with the rawness of Lily’s pain, all set against the turbulent and often violent backdrop of South Carolina in the Civil Rights era.

The strong cast and particularly impressive performances from the female ensemble, meanwhile, really give the film’s complex themes the heart, soul and depth they need to make a lasting impression.

What this film does leave you with is a strong sense of self-examination. Particularly in a church group setting, this film would be a great springboard for discussion on issues like the redemptive love and forgiveness we as Christians know we have found in Christ.

One thing’s for sure, have lots of tissues on standby and make the most of the opportunity this film presents to dig deeply into that longing inside every human heart for forgiveness, redemption, community and love.


The Secret Life of Bees goes on general release in the UK on Friday 5 December 2008.