Overview
A young girl's journey to uncover her mother's past leads her to a world of warmth and resilience.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- hopeful
- tender
- reflective evening
- book club discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film charming and emotionally affecting but overly familiar and maudlin.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Lily flees T. Ray and follows clues connected to her late mother's past.
The Boatwright sisters take in Lily and Rosaleen, creating a sustaining household shaped by women's independence.
The Boatwright household's beekeeping world structures Lily's solace and understanding of connection.
Lily and Rosaleen travel through 1964 South Carolina and become part of an interracial female community amid racism.
Films like The Secret Life of Bees, and why
To Kill a Mockingbird
coming-of-age drama centered on a young girl, maternal memory, racial injustice, and a nurturing female community
The Help
1960s Southern setting, interracial friendship, civil rights tensions, and emotionally direct drama led by women
The Spitfire Grill
poignant adolescent perspective, grief, family trauma, and a search for belonging within a compassionate community
Movie Details
- Director
- Gina Prince-Bythewood
- Release Date
- 2008-09-17
- Runtime
- 114 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (599)
Cast
- Dakota Fanning
- Queen Latifah
- Jennifer Hudson
- Alicia Keys
- Sophie Okonedo
- Paul Bettany
- Hilarie Burton Morgan
- Tristan Mack Wilds
- Nate Parker
- Shondrella Avery
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Secret Life of Bees about?
- A grieving teenager escapes an abusive father and discovers maternal secrets, racial courage, and healing among South Carolina beekeepers.
- What is The Secret Life of Bees like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Secret Life of Bees as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Secret Life of Bees violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Secret Life of Bees as mild.
- What did critics think of The Secret Life of Bees?
- Critics broadly found the film charming and emotionally affecting but overly familiar and maudlin.
- Which films are like The Secret Life of Bees?
- Films with a similar feel include To Kill a Mockingbird, The Help, and The Spitfire Grill.
- How long is The Secret Life of Bees?
- The Secret Life of Bees runs 114 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Secret Life of Bees?
- In United States, The Secret Life of Bees is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
