SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE Movie Review

El Espiritu de la Colmena

A lonely young Spanish girl named Ana (Ana Torrent of Cria) becomes enthralled and eventually obsessed by a Saturday matinee screening of the 1931 Boris Karloff version of Frankenstein. Encouraged by her older sister Isabel (Isabel Telería), intrigued by the creature's emotional vulnerability, and completely convinced by the illusion of cinema, Ana embarks on a quest to locate the monster somewhere in the Spanish countryside. The acclaimed 1973 debut feature from Spain's Victor Erice is both an insightful political allegory and a haunting parable about the loneliness and longings of childhood. Torrent, an extraordinary young actress with huge, expressive eyes, is perfectly cast as the child searching for her place in the world.

NEXT STOP … Cria, The White Balloon, Welcome to the Dollhouse

1973 95m/C SP Fernando Gomez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent, Isabel Telleria, Laly Soldevilla; D: Victor Erice; W: Victor Erice; C: Luis Cuadrado; M: Luis De Pablo. VHS, LV HMV, CVC, TPV