The Secret Life of Bees: Movie Based on the Book by Sue Monk Kidd #SaturdayMatinee

 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

from my chapteronetakeone instagram

It's no secret I love the pairing of books and movies, the act of reading the book first enhances our viewing and vice versa. Yes, Virginia. You can go back and read the book after you've seen the movie if necessary. Quite often the book and its cinematic adaptation are different, barely recognizable beasts. 

And here's a perfect pairing to enjoy with today's Saturday Matinee, the adaptation of the beautiful bestseller The Secret Life of Bees:  a thick slice of white bread (you heard me, we're not talking healthy, we're talking yummy!) toasted as you like it with a thick layer of honey and a cup of tea. With more honey? Why not?

About the Book

‘‘The multi-million bestselling novel about a young girl’s journey towards healing and the transforming power of love, from the award-winning author of The Invention of Wings

Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily’s fierce-hearted black “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina–a town that holds the secret to her mother’s past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sister, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.’’

The movie logline

‘In 1964, a teenage girl in search of the truth about her mother runs away to a small town in South Carolina and finds a family of independent women who can connect her to her past.’

The 2008 film stars Dakota Fanning as that young girl, Lily, with Jennifer Hudson as Lily's fierce protector Rosaleen with Queen Latifah as the august and aptly named August Boatwright and Alicia Keyes and Sophie Okonedo as her sisters, June and May.

While critics received it in lackluster fashion, the late Roger Ebert gave it his thumbs up with a qualification. 

‘‘As a realistic portrayal of life in rural South Carolina in 1964, "The Secret Life of Bees" is dreaming. As a parable of hope and love, it is enchanting. Should it have been painful, or a parable? Parable, I think, so it will please those who loved the novel by Sue Monk Kidd. One critic has described it as sappy, syrupy, sentimental and sermonizing, and those are only the S's. The same reviewer admitted that it is also "wholesome and heartwarming," although you will never see "wholesome" used in a movie ad.’’

See it for yourself on Amazon Prime, iTunes, GooglePlay, YouTube, Vudu or Cinemax for about $3

Here's the trailer ...

Have you read the book? Seen the movie?

In my book it's worth a look ten years later, but how about you? Is it a honey or a miss? I'm all ears.