Two young girls striving to understand the mysterious, dangerous world: that’s what The Spirit of the Beehive is about. It’s not a film about plot, so why even bother describing the handful of vignettes that drift together to form its sparse narrative? It’s a universal story set in a specific time and a particular place: a tiny town on the desolate Castillian plains, just after the Spanish Civil War. That atmosphere is captured with shocking intimacy, and there’s a subtle political subtext running throughout– but there’s a sense that all of that context is just icing on the cake in this uncompromising portrayal of childhood.
The things you are likely to take away form The Spirit of the Beehive are: mid-afternoon light pouring through honeycomb windows; the capacity in children for complex cruelty and fearless sacrifice; the unpredictable power of cinema. Opening on the seemingly inconsequential event of a mobile cinema rolling into an isolated village with a print of James Whale’s Frankenstein, the film unfolds like a dream haunted by the images in that seminal monster movie. By the time you’ve absorbed all that The Spirit of the Beehive has to offer, you too will find yourself inextricably possessed– not by Frankenstein, but by the unforgettable images of Victor Erice’s masterpiece.
Subscribe to RSS
Damn…
This is one of my favourite films and definitely one of the most beautiful and touching movies that I’ve ever seen.
Victor Erice’s films are from nowhere but his own.
BTW, I love the blog !
I was wondering when you guys would be commenting on this one on the site.
Was this one of Spike’s influences, could it be said, for WTWTA?
Thank you for all the film recommendations. I have been playing along at home and watched THE BLACK STALLION last night…
How about THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH?
this is my favorite film of all fucking time. everyone needs to see this/study it.
from wikipedia “The Spirit of the Beehive is one of the few films in history to achieve a 100% Positive Tomato rating.” I love this movie and blogged about it myself a few weeks ago.
An indescribable, inexplicably beautiful film. It deserves all of the attention and praise it’s gotten as it continues to be discovered by the uninitiated. I must comment that there’s a weight, a value that Spanish speakers who’ve lived in Spanish speaking countries perceive more easily than those who don’t and haven’t. It’s hard to explain the built in intimacy, like a grandmother who knew how to tell stories, telling of her own childhood adventures.
After watching the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are, the first thing I was reminded of was Victor Erice’s wonderful and haunting film. I think it’s fair to say, that without it, we wouldn’t have a film like Pan’s Labyrinth, which also dealt with similar thematic elements and we wouldn’t have realistic films about childhood.