Queen of the Sun
Queen of the Sun
G | 01 April 2010 (USA)
Queen of the Sun Trailers

In 1923, Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian scientist, philosopher & social innovator, predicted that in 80 to 100 years honeybees would collapse. Now, beekeepers around the United States and around the world are reporting an incredible loss of honeybees, a phenomenon deemed "Colony Collapse Disorder." This "pandemic" is indicated by bees disappearing in mass numbers from their hives with no clear single explanation. The queen is there, honey is there, but the bees are gone. For the first time, in an alarming inquiry into the insights behind Steiner's prediction QUEEN OF THE SUN: What Are the Bees Telling Us? investigates the long-term causes behind the dire global bee crisis through the eyes of biodynamic beekeepers, commercial beekeepers, scientists and philosophers.

Reviews
ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Staci Frederick Blistering performances.
000110 This is the kind of opinion piece that gives documentaries a bad name. If you want to feel good about yourself for being emotionally invested in a cause, but don't much care about reality, then this film is for you. If you want to learn and think for yourself, look elsewhere.Here are some things that you will find a lot of:interviews with organic beekeepers and pop-science writersspiritual statements about naturepeople dressed like hippiesshots of people staring stoically at thingscute children used as propsunscientific implications about the cause of colony collapse disorderHere are some things you will not find much of:nuancemoral complexitymultiple points of viewscientific researchThe worst part of this is that the concerns being raised are absolutely legitimate. Agricultural practices like the use of GMO's, pesticides, and mono-cultures have enormous consequences. But rather than making the difficult effort of assessing the actual risks and benefits of different approaches, this film reduces every issue to a literal cartoon where evil corporations are making the poor little queen bee cry.4/10 because it's at least competently shot and edited.
jortony I just turned it off midway through. It is a highly emotional anthropomorphic group of stories regarding bees with a very low information density, and highly biased against modern industry, and farming. If you want to have some spiritual programming with a positive emotional feedback to encourage learning, then this is the movie for you. If you want to learn about bees, I would recommend another movie.I gave the review an extra star for the Frenchman with the excellent mustache, and one more for the insight into the almond industry. I am sort of surprised so little time was spent on examining the vectors of CCD within that environment. Though, the bias is very clearly against man made things, and focuses on those points to the exclusion of quasi-natural causes, so I am only sort of surprised.
Bodeene Berrevoets Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us? is a passionate investigation into the honey bee crisis. It features compelling and stunningly beautiful cinematography and tells the tale of Colony Collapse Disorder through expert analysis and a cast ranging from the well-known (Michael Pollan, Gunther Hauk and Vandana Shiva) to the bizarre and charming. This uplifting and enlightening documentary is a must-see for anyone curious about the significance of bees and the impact of their decline on our global food system. Thought-provoking, inspiring, and entertaining - Queen of the Sun is a work of art that is both relevant and delectable.
Brent Trafton "Queen of the Sun: What are the bees telling us?" is the best documentary I have ever seen. It literally changed my life. So what are the bees telling us? They are telling us not to use pesticides, artificial breeding, GMO's, and other industrial beekeeping practices such as transporting hives hundreds of miles and feeding bees corn syrup. A combination of these practices are what is causing Colony Collapse Disorder and is killing the bees. The things that are killing the bees are also killing the planet. So the short answer is that the bees are telling us to support organic farmers and to boycott industrial agriculture.I was a vegan for ethical reasons and "Queen of the Sun" showed me that organic beekeeping is not only ethical, it is beneficial to the species and the individual hives; so now I will support my local organic beekeepers by buying organic raw honey. Before I saw "Queen of the Sun," I had never had organic raw honey before. I imagine most people have not had it either. It is completely different from the clear syrup that you get at the grocery store. It has a completely different look, texture, and taste. Apparently it has a whole bunch of health benefits also.I strongly urge you to see "Queen of the Sun: What are the bees telling us?" Most of the film consists of interviews with organic beekeepers and it gives insight into these amazing creatures.Even if you don't see "Queen of the Sun: What are the bees telling us?" I urge you to pay a little extra for organic food and try some organic raw honey from your local beekeepers. Bees are a "keystone species." If they disappear, we will lose about a fourth of our crops. We need to save the bees to ensure our own long term survival.