Friday, December 12, 2008

We Saw "The Secret Life of Bees"

Last night, Brit Boy and I went to the movies. The movie “The Secret Life of Bees” was finally released here in the UK, so we decided to go check it out. We loved it so much. The acting in this movie was superb. It was a beautifully down-to-earth movie and was just great because it kept reminding me of the house and surroundings that I grew up in. It reminded me of home. The movie was set in 1964 during turbulent times in America. And even though the movie was set in a time before I was born, it still evoked memories of my roots and for me, it showed the triumph of the human spirit.

The house in the movie wasn’t exactly like ours, but the characters sitting on the porch reminded me so much of how I grew up. Afterwards, Brit Boy even remarked that the porch had reminded him of sitting on the porch back home. It was funny…during the movie I kept thinking, "we had that piece of furniture and that one", as they showed the inside of the house. Then when Brit Boy and I were talking about the movie afterwards he said he thought the same thing about the house. It was like looking at a part of my own ancestry through that fictional house and the things inside of it.

I’ve read a few very arrogant, and condescending reviews of this film, but here’s the thing…the critics like what they like and I like what I like and then I go and see what I want and Brit Boy and I never go by what the critics say anyway. Everything isn’t everybody’s cup of tea and that’s fine. But that’s no reason to look down on it and be paid by some newspaper to call it a dreary “chick flick”. Whatever……

Some have said it’s a fairy tale because it was set during the time of the Civil Rights Movement and yet it comes off unrealistic. Well, the way I see it is that it showed some of the brutality of the time and a lot of us know the story of what that time was like. And for those who don’t know, there are many ways to find out. Every single thing didn’t have to happen in this one movie. I think that the story showed the perseverance of people during that time in our history, who were beat down like the character Rosaleen, and still got back up and did what they had to do, and in her case, she registered to vote. This movie was about relationships. These three sisters and Rosaleen were there to mother this 14 year old girl and to guide her to maturity. The story in this movie was told in a whisper, not with an iron fist. It nudged us along to see things clearer and sometimes that is a good way to get a message.

And at the end of the day, I don’t see anything wrong with a movie showing the beauty of life, even in the midst of hard times. The bond between the Boatwright sisters and what they shared with those who came to join them, is what holds the world together…and that is people caring for each other in simple everyday ways. This movie was so beautifully shot and the story was so life-affirming that I can’t stop thinking about it. I think that it was a beautiful walk down memory lane for me and I’m glad I took that walk.

I thought that it was nice just to see a movie that made me feel good…that made me possibly remember parts of myself and showed me that there is one thing that we can “choose” to always have no matter what and that is hope.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I am sorry that I didn't get a chance to see the movie when it was showing here. But I will catch it on DVD. I heard mixed reviews about it too but since I loved the book I am hopefully that I will like the movie too!

Ivanhoe said...

I did not see this movie either. But I love movies that leave a "mark" on me and I get to think about them often.
Have a wonderful weekend, Dori :o)
BTW: I love your new x-mas avatar on the right. Must check out that meezer thingy myself ;o)

Anonymous said...

So exciting to know there's a movie! I've just finished reading the book fo the second time and loved it just as much as the first time I read it last year. My 16 year old Ugandan daughter also read it - both of us read it in about 1 day, it's one of those you just can't put down. I can imagine it adapting to film wonderfully.

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I can't wait to see it; I'll have to Netflix it one night. I liked the book. All the points in the movie that you're bringing up struck me when I read it, too.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the book: it was a bit slow-moving, and yet there was a lot of depth to it. Haven't decided if I'll add the movie to my Netflix queue, though. Hubby and I almost never catch movies in the theatres, I didn't even know this had already been released, LoL!

HEALTH NUT WANNABEE MOM said...

Thank goodness for hope! I have not seen this movie but I want to now after your review of it. I love how much you loved it and your reasons why. I am sentimental myself.

Martin MY said...

May never get a chance to see this film here unfortunately. Read the book though, comparisons always lead to disappointments with conversions, doens't seem to be the case here.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing Dori. I'll have to get around to seeing this movie for sure.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dori,

Deana here.

Did you get my email I've sent you yesterday about the WIM site closing down in two weeks from now?

You know , like you I also like to ignore the opinions of the critics and I decide wether I want to see a movie or not.
I can imagine you love a movie which has pictures that remind you of your childhood, who wouldn't?

Dori, I think I have a good product for you to use to treat your hands. I'll mail you about it.

Hope to keep in touch with you.
Have a nice weekend.

Deana Wilmink-Martina

Dori said...

Renee,
Yeah, I hope you do get the chance to see it on DVD. I liked that the movie went along and took its time. I haven't read the book, but I'm going to now. So I don't know how close they stayed to the story in the book. I hope that you enjoy it :)

Ivanhoe,
That was it...it left a mark on me. It made me think about what life must have been like for my parents and it made me grateful to them and all the other people who paved the way. And it was just nice to see a movie that celebrated relationships.

You have a wonderful weekend too. And yeah, I decided to go all Chrismtas avatar-esque :) I hope you get a meez too. They are fun to create.

Christina,
I am going to have to do it in reverse of you...now that I've seen the movie, I'll go and read the book :) You and your daughter have sold me on reading it for sure :) Thanks for visiting.

Susan,
I hope that you enjoy it as much as the book. As we all know, they can change things around so much in a movie, but I loved the story :)

Lynne,
I will definitely have to read the book. I hope that you enjoy the movie :-)

Health Nut Wannabee Mom,
So true...thank goodness for hope :) I do hope that you like it. It just spoke to me very personally. I guess it was what I needed to see right now, so it stayed with me. And yep, I'm a sentimental girl too :-)

Martin,
I'm so glad to hear that so many people have read this book. I've got to pick this one up. You're right...comparisons do lead to disappointments and often they switch stuff around a lot on film. Since I haven't read the book yet, it will be interesting to get a taste of the written story. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to read it now that you all have enjoyed it so much. I just love talking literature. Have a great weekend Martin :-)

Jacqueline,
I hope you do get the chance to see it. It's a life-affirming little movie and I enjoyed it so much. Have a great weekend :-)

Deana,
I will go and check for your email. I did get the news about the site closing down. I will email you back.

Yeah, I think a lot of people just go see what they want like us :) And it's true that when a movie or book resonates with you, it means more. However, I think that the story itself is a good one on its own so I would have loved it anyway :) I look forward to your email about my hands. I've had so much great advice from everyone. This is great! :)