"The Secret Life of Bees"

In rural North Carolina in 1964, 14-year-old Lily (Dakota Fanning) is running away from her intolerant father, pushed by memories of her mother's accidental death and by the fear that she is an "unlovable" child. Lily and Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), the caregiver who accompanies her, find their way to the Pepto- Bismol pink house of the Boatwright sisters, August, June and May (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo), beekeepers who successfully produce their own honey.

There's a hint of mystique in Lily's infatuation with the Boatwrights— a tenacious, yet uncertain need to stay and find the love that she believes has escaped her life. Yet Lily is a minor and Rosaleen's in trouble with the law, and in the South, the newly legislated Civil Rights Act is fanning the embers of tenuous change, crumbling generations of segregation.

Lily is colorblind and quickly finds comfort amid the quirky Boatwrights. But her past begins to encroach upon her newfound happiness . . . which is probably a good place to end plot-surfing. "The Secret Life of Bees" is one of those movies you really should know little about—other than this tender, intelligent fable is a drama-lover's delight.

The cast (including Paul Bettany as Lily's loveless father) is sterling. If there were an Oscar for Best Ensemble Film, the buzz (sorry, couldn't resist) would be all about "Bees."

There's very little wrong with this tale, and nothing a hanky or two won't fix—and if you can overlook a few coincidences, a few puzzle pieces perhaps falling too easily into place (I did), the resulting journey is most memorable. It's a coming-of-age tale (and not only Lily's; in a sense, the entire country's in the racial turmoil of the mid-'60s). Yeah, it's about race, but it's more about love. And, I guess, sometimes love hurts.

Even if you suspect where this one might end up, you really don't mind getting there. The journey's worth it. And bees really do have a secret life. Don't want to get stung? asks August Boatwright. Send the bees your love. Sage advice for all of us.

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