Secret Life of Bees

I watched a great movie last night. Definitely, one of the best movies of all time. There have been several flicks that I label as 'tear-jerkers' and boy, isn't this one included. It's called 'The Secret Life of Bees'. The astounding performance by Dakota Fanning captured me so deeply I didn't even realize I've been sitting straight for two hours without moving. I gotta say, I've never seen Queen Latifah played more beautifully and gracefully ever. I haven't had any movie that got me into thinking few days afterwards, not after Freedom Writers and Good Will Hunting. The movie addresses the emotion and cultural conflicts so well, each character was exposed to their own story. Each of them came across with the others', the connection was inexplicable but yet, it is so beautifully resolved in the end of the story. This is the third time I've cried so hard because of a movie (first time is because Good Will Hunting and second time is because Freedom Writers), crying hard as in gulping for air and sobbing violently. I don't even cry that badly for myself. 

1. Lily Owens

This young woman, yes I prefer young woman rather than little girl, held tremendous burden in her life. She had the most terrifying past anyone can bear to live with, she killed his own mother when she was four. Ever since, she's been abused physically and emotionally by his own father, T.Ray, who didn't even want to talk to her if unnecessary. She had been missing her mother, feeling guilty for what she's done, and was determined to find out more about her. Up until one night, her father told her that her mother once left the house. He told her that the day she got killed, her mother was only coming back for her things, and not for Lily. Taken aback, Lily refused to believe the story and kept her faith on her mother. She was sure her mother couldn't have done that. It was as if the only fact she treasured about her mother, her mother's love for her, was taken away cold-heartedly. I don't think she could bear the thought of killing her mother and moreover, knowing her mother never actually loved her enough to fight for her. She then left the house, and journeyed to find the answer. Along the way, she met few incredible people who painfully, she had to lie to. She carefully built a wall to shelter her from them but nonetheless, being an innocent young woman she was, she loved them without being able to do otherwise. But unfortunate events happened, and she blamed herself for them. It was true, in a sense, they couldn't have happened if it wasn't because of her, but they all happened for a good reason. That was what she was missing, I guess. And we can't blame her, she was so used to being blamed. She lived with guilt just as she learned how to talk. She was unlovable, or so she thought.

2. Rosaleen

The time in which they lived was not friendly at all for a woman like Rosaleen. She was a colored woman, and not the smart one either. She only wanted to vote, to make herself heard. But she didn't realize how impossible it still was even after the Civil Rights Act issued. She hated the world, resented herself for being so hopeless and defenseless about her race, but still couldn't stop loving the white girl who's been with her along the way. I guess, she only wanted a family where she was accepted and not treated like crap. I was really happy to see her growing from a negative and angry woman who didn't even dare to open her mouth to speak for herself to a happy and bright woman who knew how to defend her loved ones. She was at first so angry at the world and at herself, blaming the world for not accepting her and blaming herself for not being able to fight the world hard enough. But she changed and that was a really beautiful transformation.

3. August Boatwright

I was stunned by Queen Latifah. I couldn't imagine seeing her like that and there I was, thinking, 'Man, what a cool mother she'd make!'. She was calm and graceful. She knew how to handle things the right way, and unbelievably, the most pleasant way possible too. When she first saw Lily, there was something in her face that told me right away she wasn't at all fooled by Lily's lie. She didn't know what Lily was trying to hide nor did she know why she had to do so, but she knew Lily came for the truth. She lifted her heart, and that was all she did throughout the movie. She said that the only matters in life was lifting people's hearts. That's what matters, so she said. I saw an extraordinary and phenomenal woman in her. She wasn't married and not because she wasn't loved or she didn't love enough to marry, but simply she loved her freedom more. Even when she said the words, I had the slight feeling that it wasn't all. Being the eldest sister, she felt the obligation to take care of her younger sisters, especially May, and she knew she wouldn't be able to be there for her as much as she wanted to be if she was married. When she lost May, the grief she felt struck a chord inside me and I was dumbfounded before my own TV. She howled in sorrow, for God's sake. But she took her lost peacefully and gracefully, just like she dealt with anything else in her life. She understood the life concepts, perhaps one of the hardest: letting go. She was the key of the movie. Without her, no questions would be answered and there would be no way Lily could make peace with her past, her present, her future and most importantly with herself and her father. 

4. June Boatwright

The beauty. I didn't even remember she was Alicia Keys. She was so selfish and full of disdain towards Lily and Rosaleen when they first came into the house. I couldn't understand her hatred although I didn't hate her. I learnt from the beginning of the movie that no one in this movie deserved to be hated. They all had their own sorrows and their own emotional burdens. They just happened to cross and stepped at each other's burdens. I was waiting patiently to see her story and why she acted so devilishly among all Boatwright sisters. She didn't marry her faithful suitor, but of why this might be, I'm still trying to figure it out. A part of me said she was only being selfish, because she didn't like to surrender. Accepting the man's proposal felt somehow like a defeat to her, like she was not in the control anymore. But I felt a bit of another feeling within her. I felt a glimpse of sisterly love and obligation towards May, just like her older sister, August. I was really touched when she started to gradually accept Lily and Rosaleen and eventually, really loved them both. I loved how she could let her selfish side go and started learning the concept of loving other people after she lost May. She let Neil loved her, she let Lily loved her, she let Rosaleen into the family, and she let herself loved her. The emotional journey that she went through, from a person who was so full of hatred into a person who loved possessively, would never go unnoticed. As little her role might be, you would've realized her growth and celebrated it with her.

5. May Boatwright

This may be the most heart-wrenching character for me. Others might love and feel for Lily more but I just couldn't help to cry and weep for May. She had a twin sister named April. April died when they were still little and when they were still together, they have the most intense twin emotional bond. Whenever April was hurt, May would feel the same pain. Whenever May tripped down and fell, a mysterious bruise would appear on the exact location in April's body, just like in May's. And when April died, mysteriously, the world became May's twin sister. Can you imagine how it might feel to carry the world's burden with you? May would cry for anything. When someone was in pain, she cried. When someone hesitated and confused, she sensed it. When someone lost his/her loved one, she felt a part of herself was gone too. She couldn't hate or be angry, she was too occupied with people's burdens. I couldn't exactly portray how it would feel to be like her, I could only imagine. I heart her and I feel for her. When she decided to let go of the burdens, I felt somehow relieved and in a way, I think it was the most perfect happy ending for her. While the others had so much more to live and to pursue, I think if she continued hers, she'd lose more than she'd ever gain.

This is a story about pain, guilt, hopelessness, hope, grief, acceptance, freedom, justice, forgiveness, love and letting go. I can't believe there could be so much aspects a two-hour movie can cover, yet so successfully convey the depth of each emotions. This really worth your time. And if you relate to one of the feelings, you would definitely learn something from it. Even if you had the happiest childhood possible and you've never felt such intense emotions like the ones captured in the movie, you would still find it enjoyable.