The Secret Life of Bees

Set in 1964 in the South, this adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel follows 14-year-old Lily who flees her despotic father's home with Rosaleen, her caregiver, in search of her family past. She lands in a matriarchal African-American community of the Boatwright sisters where bonds are formed through working and living together surrounded by the affirming and magical power of love. The Secret Life of Bees clearly references Afro-American religiosity around the cult of the Black Madonna, based on modern spell breaking and holistic life in tune with nature. The Virgin Mary, once the protector of runaway slaves, is the focus of adoration by generations of women apiaries. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood follows the steps of African-American literature and Southern performances, exposing them as places of myth and anti-modernity, suspended between the past and contemporaneity, a space for meetings between the living and dead, where paranormal, direct contact with the transcendent is possible. All this is set against the background of the African-American civil rights struggle. Roger Ebert considers the film an excellent example of using emotions in a film that is ultimately heartwarming.