MOVIEmeter
Top 5000
Up 1,282 this week

The Secret Life of Bees (2008)

 -  Drama  -  17 October 2008 (USA)
7.0
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.0/10 from 13,179 users   Metascore: 57/100
Reviews: 51 user | 108 critic | 32 from Metacritic.com

set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with ... See full summary »

Writers:

(screenplay), (novel)
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 382 titles created 15 Mar 2012
 
a list of 85 titles created 14 May 2012
 
a list of 3595 titles created 1 month ago
 
a list of 105 titles created 17 Dec 2010
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Secret Life of Bees (2008)

The Secret Life of Bees (2008) on IMDb 7/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Secret Life of Bees.
10 wins & 16 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

The Help (2011)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.

Director: Tate Taylor
Stars: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard
I Am Sam (2001)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A mentally retarded man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter, and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.

Director: Jessie Nelson
Stars: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

Anna Fitzgerald looks to earn medical emancipation from her parents who until now have relied on their youngest child to help their leukemia-stricken daughter Kate remain alive.

Director: Nick Cassavetes
Stars: Abigail Breslin, Walter Raney, Cameron Diaz
An Education (2009)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.

Director: Lone Scherfig
Stars: Carey Mulligan, Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

An introvert freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors who welcome him to the real world.

Director: Stephen Chbosky
Stars: Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

A veterinary student abandons his studies after his parents are killed and joins a traveling circus as their vet.

Director: Francis Lawrence
Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz
Speak (2004)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

After a blurred trauma over the summer, Melinda enters high school a selective mute. Struggling with school, friends, and family, she tells the dark tale of her experiences, and why she has chosen not to speak.

Director: Jessica Sharzer
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Michael Angarano, Robert John Burke
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to compete.

Director: Gary Ross
Stars: Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth
Precious II (2009)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.

Director: Lee Daniels
Stars: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A sleazy defense attorney has a crisis of conscience when he represents a wealthy client who has a foolproof plan to beat the system.

Director: Brad Furman
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe
Babel (2006)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, touching off an interlocking story involving four different families.

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Mohamed Akhzam
Biography | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl.

Director: Simon Curtis
Stars: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Ormond
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Doll (as Renée Clark)
...
Violet (as Sharon Morris)
...
...
Sugar Girl
Emma Sage Bowman ...
Edit

Storyline

set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters, Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping. Written by Fox Searchlight Pictures

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Bring Your Girlfriends, Sisters, Mothers and Daughters

Genres:

Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material and some violence | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

17 October 2008 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

A Vida Secreta das Abelhas  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£74,626 (UK) (5 December 2008)

Gross:

$37,766,350 (USA) (20 February 2009)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (director's cut) |

Sound Mix:

| (as Dolby Stereo)|

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alicia Keys learned to play the cello in 4 weeks for this part. See more »

Goofs

The story takes place in 1964. Throughout the story, June wears a silk-screen NAACP t-shirt. Silk-screened t-shirts did not exist until the issuance of a patent for the garment screen printing machine in 1969. See more »

Quotes

Lily Owens: If your favorite color is blue, why did you paint the house pink?
August Boatwright: [chuckles] That was May's doing. When we went to the paint shop, she latched on to a color called, "Caribbean Pink." She said it made her feel like dancing a Spanish Flamenco. I personally thought it was the tackiest color I had ever seen, but I figured if it could lift May's heart, it was good enough to live in.
Lily Owens: That was awfully nice of you.
August Boatwright: Well, I don't know. Some things in life, like the color of a house, don't really matter. ...
See more »

Connections

Featured in The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards (2009) See more »

Soundtracks

"Keep Marching"
(2008)
Written and Performed by Raphael Saadiq
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Very nice, pleasant movie
6 November 2008 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

I surprisingly enjoyed the movie more than I thought and would give it a solid 7. It was well scripted, the filming was fantastic, and the acting was good - it was a very pleasant movie. I read the book, so I knew what the plot was about, so no surprises there (although I wish it included one detail that was in the book about the shooting). There was nothing truly spectacular or exciting to give it an 8 (but nothing truly spectacular happens in the book either, so the movie couldn't really change that), but nothing terrible/poor script/poor acting, which you usually find a bit of in a 6 or 6.5 stars. I saw it in the theater and it was the perfect "girls night out" movie. Also good for mother/daughter. Otherwise, wouldn't pay $10 to see it. It would be a great rental - see once and return.


4 of 6 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Unnecessary Sexual Sugestion with the Purple Honey sartor023
Seriously? No love for T Ray? jlm75
Dakota's first on screen kiss hal_111091
what was the stuff that her father made her kneal on? livielu
Did anyone else love May Boatwright? reminiscent00
A scene from Dakota that fell flat... rosek102
Discuss The Secret Life of Bees (2008) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?