The Spirit of the Beehive

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Simon T @Bucksplit 5d A perfect film. Using the allegory of the 1931 Frankenstein, director Victor Erice unfolds an unhurried meditation on love, loss and cruelty during the Spanish civil war. He elicits mesmerising performances from his two young leads, particularly Ana Torrent, and some stunning cinematography, production design and music. I only have one question: has the mother left the family? Is she a ghost? It's not made clear, but it would explain Ana's need to believe in the spirit. Some obvious parallels with Bryan Forbes' 1961 Whistle Down the Wind. See more Eileen S @RT66817540 03/20/2025 A beautiful film. Ana Torrent is astonishingly good. It is a strange magical and immersive experience; give it time to work on your senses and it is profoundly moving. See more Kevin L @Lakeman 10/17/2024 Another one I should've seen much younger, before the years and drears too so much of the appreciation for childhood wonder and imagination out of me. Twenty-/thirty-something me may have liked this more. While I still appreciate the film for some aspects, as its main idea/theme, the maintaining of a tone that works well, it's the performance by Ana Torrent that works best here. Torrent conveys wonder, awe, and curiosity about as well as anyone could expect of s/one her age. Those big, expressive eyes and that angelic face searching for the monster who terrifies but also holds a bit of the magic that life and the world has the potential for a child to find. But the film was no grand revelation that embued all the compassion, joy, and miraculous essence that so many write and speak of. Torrent and fellow child actor Isabel Telleria are wonderful; truly give off authentic child expressions to each scene they're in. Gomez as Fernando is very good as well. And of course, Villasante in his brief role. 3.2 stars See more dave s @RT68722908 08/15/2022 Filled with symbolism and heavy with atmosphere, Victor Erice's The Spirit of the Beehive is set in the vast expanses of the Castilian plains shortly after the start of Franco's fascist rule over Spain. Ana (Ana Torrent) is the youngest daughter in a family trying to etch out a living in the vast and arid landscape, fascinated by what life has to offer, her imagination triggered after a viewing of Frankenstein in a make-shift local cinema. Languidly paced, Erice effectively captures the sense of isolation experienced by the characters with lengthy shots of expressionless faces, an example being Ana's mother lying in bed, pretending to sleep while her husband prepares for the day. While it won't appeal to all audiences due to its deliberate pace and minimal dialogue, it's sure to be a rewarding experience for those willing to exercise a degree of patience. See more 12/22/2021 A meditative exploration of what happens when the innocent brushes the macabre. The struggle between life- and death-giving forces, and its ability to transform its subjects, is woven into nearly every scene. This tension is made all the more stunning by the slow, long juxtapositions in the frame -- little girls dressed in white against the roaring fury of a black train; blood used as lipstick; Ana's urge to touch a lethal mushroom. The pacing and cinematography take their time because they point us towards themes that take time to process. Ultimately, the forces of chaos and death wrap their fingers around the characters and landscape, alter them, and leave us wondering if Good can triumph. Worthy on its own as an art piece, but made more potent by its veiled political commentary on the effect the Franco regime had on Spanish life. See more s r @ScottR 07/12/2021 1001 movies to see before you die. This was a slow, paced movie that focuses on the imagination of a young girl in Catalonia and how it is shaped by things like the movie Frankenstein, her sister's stories and her parents. It was intriguing and beautiful. It was on youtube. See more Read all reviews

The Spirit of the Beehive

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