Shortly after the end of the Spanish Civil War, Ana (Ana Torrent) and her older sister Isabel (Isabel Tellería) watch 'Frankenstein' (1931) in the local village hall that has been transformed into an impromptu cinema. Ana is struck by the scene where Frankenstein's monster approaches a little girl near the shore of a lake and begins to play with her and her flowers. Later in bed, Teresa tells her the monster is really still alive: it inhabits a deserted house out in the fields in ghostly form. Ana is deeply affected by this idea, with eventually serious consequences. With 'The Spirit of the Beehive' director Víctor Erice created a beautiful film. His treatment of Ana (and her sister) is in no way patronizing, and the way the film shows how a small girl's imagination can take over her mind is absolutely convincing. Moreover, the acting is good: the children are doing just as well the adults. The one weak point is the pacing, which is inordinately slow. When watching the film, I was several times reminded of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (1962) - another film where the imagination of a little girl plays an important role. However, Robert Mulligan, who directed that film, did a superb job creating suspense while at the same time treating childhood in a sensitive and respectful way. Seen from this perspective Víctor Erice succeeded only in part.
Review of The Spirit of the Beehive
