The Spirit of the Beehive

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Kevin L 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 Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/17/24 Full Review dave s 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. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review s r 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. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Wonderful. Moving. Truly a work of art. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review William L I don't think it's an exaggeration to call Spirit of the Beehive a fundamentally perfect exploration of its subject matter and a masterpiece of cinema. The biggest question is: how did the film make it past the censors of Franco-era Spain? The film is intensely allegorical, focusing on the brutality of the regime in a literal and subjective manner, but also puts forth a compelling exploration of a dissolving family; every character has some relevance to a social or political entity, and it would have been painfully easy to craft a narrative in which the political climate was the sole factor contributing to the demise of an otherwhise wholesome family. However, Erice does not prusue this path (in part due to practicality to avoid censorship), instead opting for a genuinely flawed (and thus, more interesting and more realistic) group to convey his thematic vision. The integration of the Frankenstein subplot as an underlying thread and Ana's youthful (but not clumsily immature) perspective is fasinating. The early introduction of the honeycomb windows flooded with yellow light, in conjunction with the title and initial showing of the beehives themselves, virtually scream at the audience to be on the lookout for additional symbolism and visual cues, a very nice touch. (5/5) Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/27/20 Full Review Read all reviews

The Spirit of the Beehive

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