The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

In 1940, after watching and being traumatized by the movie Frankenstein (1931), a sensitive seven year-old girl living in a small Spanish village drifts into her own fantasy world.

Director:

Víctor Erice

Writers:

Ángel Fernández Santos (original screenplay), Víctor Erice (original screenplay)

Stars:

Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent

7 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fernando Fernán Gómez	...	Fernando
Teresa Gimpera	...	Teresa
Ana Torrent	...	Ana
Isabel Tellería	...	Isabel
Ketty de la Cámara	...	Milagros, la criada
Estanis González	...	Guardia civil
José Villasante	...	Frankenstein
Juan Margallo	...	Fugitivo
Laly Soldevila	...	Doña Lucía
Miguel Picazo	...	Doctor

Storyline

In Castilla around 1940, a traveling movie theatre brings James Whale's black and white film classic "Frankenstein" (1931) to a small village. Two young girls, Isabel and Ana, are subsequently determined to find the monster themselves.

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Plot Keywords:

imagination | magical realism | childhood | mushroom | beehive | 

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Taglines:

Entering a child's world of fascination and horror.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

5 January 1977 (France)

Also Known As:

The Spirit of the Beehive

Filming Locations:

Hoyuelos, Segovia, Castilla y León, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elías Querejeta Producciones Cinematográficas S.L., Jacel Desposito

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The deserted building next to the well was actually an abandoned sheep-shed.

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Goofs

When Ana & Isabel first go to the well there are stones around the base. Ana steps on one to look down in to the well. When she returns later there are no longer any stones so when she looks in to the well she is much too short to see down in it.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Isabel: It's me, Ana... It's me, Ana...

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Connections

Featured in Sus años dorados (1980)

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Soundtracks

Ojos verdes
Written by Salvador Valverde (as Valverde), Rafael de León (as León) y Manuel L. Quiroga (as Quiroga)

User Reviews

graceful and elegant

Like many of the other commentators here, I had heard about this movie long before I had ever had a chance to see it, although it typically is mentioned as one of Spain's greatest films. It definitely is. It is masterfully directed and I have not been able to stop thinking about it for days.

The story is elliptically told and demands your participation in making sense of the narrative, but it's also leisurely paced and allows you to breathe in the atmosphere rather than forcing a particular reading on you. One thing you wouldn't guess from reading the other comments is how this is as much a film about nature as about history--it is like a poem of the countryside in winter, with long vistas of stone farmhouses framed against the rising sun. The film with the most similar visual palette is Malick's "Days of Heaven", but that film feels simplistic compared to the full immersion in history and memory presented in this film--a much more complete vision of the past.

Ana Torrent is unforgettable. I can think of no better film about children, yet (as with so many other things in this movie) it doesn't feel forced--these kids aren't just the director's pawns, but real, living beings.

If you get a chance to see it, definitely make the effort.