Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
Set in rural Spain in 1940, Victor Erice's acclaimed 1973 film was simultaneously a sensitive evocation of the poignancy of childhood and, by implication, an elegy for the legacy of the Civil War. (Film Forum)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Victor Erice
Written By: Victor Erice, Ángel Fernández Santos
Starring: Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent, Juan Margallo, Laly Soldevila, Miguel Picazo, Estanis González, José Villasante, Ketty de la Cámara, Isabel Tellería
AKA: El espíritu de la colmena
Country: Spain
Where to Stream
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Spirit of the Beehive belongs to 92 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 234 stars)
2. Criterion Collection (collaborative: moderated by caffe - 167 stars)
3. Favorite Film of Every Criticker Member (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 96 stars)
4. Roger Ebert: Great Movies (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 80 stars)
5. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)
6. Empire's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time (public: Ross - 36 stars)
7. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)
8. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
9. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)
10. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)
11. AAA: Empire's five star movies (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 24 stars)
12. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)
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16. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 17 stars)
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Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 7 |  |
MartinTeller | 90 94th |
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Beautifully photographed, gently paced, and refuses to hold the viewer's hand through a simple A-B-C narrative. I know nothing about the Spanish civil war and so the political metaphors flew over my head. But it'll give me something to keep an eye on the next time I watch it, and there will be a next time because I loved it. Very gorgeous and evocative with a number of scenes that linger in my memory, and also a truly lovely score.
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| 6 |  |
torontodog | 90 94th |
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Visually stunning. A study of the very nature of childhood, family and imagination. But is it Frankenstein's monster or Francisco Franco's monster that appears in this film? There are hidden criticisms about Spain's dictatorship that I only figured out when reading about the movie after I'd seen it. Tough to make sense of this if you don't know what you're about to see.
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| 5 |  |
psiXaos | 100 99th |
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Mesmerizingly beautiful! This has that pure 'spirit' like that of a child's big eyes, by which the story is told through. Luis Cuadrado's haunting cinematography is paired with Victor Erice's lucid direction to create one of the most transcendent experiences in cinema...
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| 5 |  |
Briare | 100 99th |
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Watching this film is detaching oneself from reality, and just letting Ana Torrent and the Spanish countryside take you on a little bit of a journey. The little girl tells the story through the reflection in her big brown eyes- we sympathize with her every move, and as the movie begins to take on an almost Frankenstein-like aura itself, I was left awed as the credits began to role and beyond, as I was entangled in silence, I had to let my breath come back and wonder... what had I just seen? One
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| 5 |  |
KAH | 4 93rd |
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An enigmatic and intimate film that explores two children's confrontation with the real world, and the realization of their own mortality and existence. This is shown, thankfully not told, through beautiful and fantasy-like imagery. A low-keyed and heartfelt vision, this is truly a unique masterpiece.
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| 5 |  |
Dumptruk4Lif | 60 12th |
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This was booooooooooring. You guys are fucking with me, right? Yeah it may be your opinion and I'm supposed to respect that occasionally, but sometimes things don't even fall in the lines of subjectivity. This had nothing going on for 90 minutes. It never went anywhere, it never made me feel anything other than boredom, I just watched these monotone faces staring at fire or bees or trains, I don't care. This was the only time watching a movie where I felt like I was raped of my time.
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| 4 |  |
AFlickering | 5 75th |
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offers a perfect argument for the formative influence of striking images, capturing the way they can subtly alter our psychological states, particularly as children. it also suggests that cinema possesses a profound capacity to use such images to illuminate the mysterious forces underlying existence, and in that respect it becomes its own best example. a remarkable film; tender, humane, characterised by mesmerising elliptical rhythms, devastating imagery and flawless rustic compositions.
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| 4 |  |
burmashave | 99 99th |
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there's a scene in this film where the protagonist is walking alongside a wall and the plants in the garden cast a shadow on the wall, it reminds me of my childhood, me walking in the hallways of of my grandma's house, almost a mansion to me, and being terrorized by the shadows cast by the samambaias. all of this film reminds me of this, of my childhood fears, the monsters, the mythology, the fascination. here the tragedy is engulfed by the child fantasies, which makes them even scarier
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| 4 |  |
Paxton | 70 63rd |
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I need to give it another chance but, geesh, I liked Frankenstein too. Don't have to make a movie about it.
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| 3 |  |
djross | 80 91st |
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Evocative, mysterious, atmospheric, and complex symbolic political allegory, but also a beautiful and penetrating investigation of the universe of childhood.
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| 3 |  |
Alex Watkins | 4 70th |
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Subtle, beautiful, elegiac and very touching. I'll also cop to being completely ignorant of the political allegory (I imagine most viewers outside of Spain would be) but it's hardly necessary to enjoy this. It's a beautiful evocation of childhood curiosity and wonderment and features two of the best child performances you'll ever see, along with some gorgeous photography and a fantastic score.
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| 3 |  |
frederic_g54 | 9 90th |
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Cinema as a transformative experience and the sometimes haunting impression it leaves behind. Childhood as a state of untarnished innocence, corrupted by the onset of the adult world. At least that's what I take away from it after my initial viewing, though I can't help but think there's much more to discover under the surface.
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| 3 | theficionado | 100 97th |
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A subtler, elegaic Pan's Labyrinth, and I mean that in the best way possible.
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| 3 |  |
KasperL | 85 93rd |
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The children are fantastic. Ana Torrent carries the film so beautifully. 'The Spirit of the Beehive' is a movie where much seems to be going on underneath the surface but on my first-time watch I was completely engrossed with (and fully satisfied by) experiencing Erice's - or that is, Ana's - world. His shot compositions and attention to cuts are exemplary.
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| 3 |  |
adrian | 90 97th |
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A great film to see after watching Pan's Labyrinth. It explores similar themes, is set in Spain in 1940 after the Civil War, and features wonderful child performances and unforgettable imagery. This film is slower, subtler, more enigmatic. The elegiac aftermath of the brutality of Pan's Labyrinth.
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| 3 |  |
ZayanK | 93 91st |
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It's like Pan's Labyrinth without all the blah-blah.
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| 3 |  |
lisa- | 7 92nd |
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a mysterious and elusive film, one which presents a world at the collision of the reality of nature and the artifice of cinema, a world which encourages an endless stream of childlike fascination and exploration, but in which those very same qualities provide a constant threat of danger. didn't really care about the heavily symbolic allegory.
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| 2 |  |
elmakebabi | 65 50th |
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I don't agree with most of people out there. The same idea / story would turn into a masterpiece in someone else's hands. Erice's manner makes this film profoundly mediocre!
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| 1 |  |
willofgaia | 80 43rd |
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Paced well and very atmospheric, but it just never made much of a connection with me.
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| 1 |  |
hehejaja | 80 76th |
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A heartfelt exploration of a child's innocence and self-created world of fantasy, in where abstract mysteries and feelings, dreams and passions are just as important as the resolute things in life. The director, Erice, is giving alot of himself in this film, I think. Spirit of the Beehive feels so intimate and personal in it's tranquil dive into the uknown, from a little child's perspective.
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| 1 |  |
whatismyname | 75 88th |
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I watched this film without having any knowledge of what it was about, and feel that is the best way to experience it.
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| 1 |  |
Eldred08 | 95 92nd |
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The life of the characters is cold, authentic, beautiful, sad and always lonely and incommunicable , like the Spanish reality of the 40's ... There are some good aspects of the childhood that you can't see at nowadays, and I liked very much seeing this...
Nostalgic, beautiful, sweet and bitter... Distinction for Ana Torrent and her big, curious and fascinating eyes...
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| 1 | dooooooley | 85 57th |
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a little too much stasis for me but i am amazed at how much the visual design tells the story with so little dialogue. So much left unanswered yet still manages to fill my belly. very abstract.
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| 1 | Chacron | 70 40th |
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I had seen this film mentioned in several articles, comparing it to my absolute favourite film Pan's Labyrinth , suffice to say that I expected much from this film. After watching it I couldn't help feeling somewhat dissapointed. Storytelling takes a back seat, with the film being primarily dominated by vague symbolism, which, to be frank went right over my head. Perhaps If I understood the spanish civil warin more detail I'd appreciate the allegoric aspect of it more. Solid, but dissapointing.
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| 1 |  |
graveyardtan | 95 93rd |
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Frankenstein, Are You There? It's Me, Margaret.
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| 1 |  |
yesistasty | 94 86th |
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Beautiful looking film. Two themes jump out to me: the naturalistic depiction of time's inexorable passage, and the ways in which art and reality inform each other, creating layers of dialogue and meaning between the creative and the natural realms.
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| 1 |  |
Rufam | 75 72nd |
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Flowing calmly at its own leisurely pace, "El espíritu de la colmena" is a quiet, gorgeously put-together enigma of a film about curious, wonder-filled children peeking at the violent core of human existence. Shot simply but effectively and featuring a wonderful score and one of the finest child performances in cinema (the starry-eyed Ana Torrent), Erice's film occasionally stagnates in its own poetic stasis but remains mesmerizing and inquisition-worthy all the same.
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| 1 |  |
Red_Falcon_ | 65 25th |
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This film in being a extremely subtle allegory of the Spanish Civil War offers no touchstone for those of us who do not know much about this period and most of the symbolism went right by me.What I got out of this was a well crafted film with two good performances from the girls, some nice cinematography and a story that I really did not find all that interesting mostly because I did not get said symbolism.
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| 1 |  |
JangoB | 76 60th |
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Although it is essentially a critique of Spanish post-war social situation, for me it was mostly a piece about the effect films have on their viewers. Perhaps it wasn't the main theme of the picture (it's certainly not "Peeping Tom"), but that was something that really stood out for me. I was impressed with Erice's depiction of children - the two girls are not afraid of their surroundings after watching "Frankenstein", instead they become more fascinated with the mysterious world around them.
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| 1 |  |
ratedargh | 95 92nd |
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This is how you tell a great story with next to no exposition. There's no wasting time with explaining every little thing. It's gorgeous to boot. But the kids rule the day. Ana and Isabel are fascinating and really well played. Clearly an influence on Guillermo del Toro, but a lot more understated than his bombastic ways.
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| 1 |  |
Huah | 97 96th |
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There's very few films that come close to evoking such profound sentiments of youthful curiosity and dread as this chef-d'oeuvre. Every scene of the film is pure visceral magic, every second titillates an unseen specter of ubiquitous mystery, every shot a rendition of timeless Baroque pieces of hand-painted art. The political undertones are almost ignorable when being so entranced by the beauty of the film, although they ought to be taken into account. Bask in an interval of silence when Fini.
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| 1 |  |
loc42 | 85 88th |
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This has the attention and attitude of a child who explores the world, hence it narrates Ana's experience of understanding the "evil" in the embodiment of Frankenstein. "Frankenstein" is so significant because it stands for the modern man who is "invented" by modernity, similarly her brother is a victim of modernity who died in the Civil War. This film has a unique quality of its own poetry and metaphysics, so political by being too apolitical. Ana's disappearance remind me of "Satantango"s girl
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| 1 |  |
Vauth | 88 80th |
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Very well directed whereby almost every scene strikes a great balance of poetry and pacing, managing to evoke a great range of emotions in the audience. Cinematography is excellent with some really evocative shots and the chemistry between the actors are brilliantly real and charming, bringing life to a bleak physical and spiritual environment the film portrays. The portrayal of childhood's innocence and curiosity is enough to win me over without the politics of Spain at that time. Brilliant.
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| 1 | Uhrmacher | 77 15th |
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Didn't especially enjoy or connect with this one. It's an extremely slow and fairly fantastical story built around two young girls. To describe it in a sentence, it felt like a less enjoyable version of Stalker.
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| 1 |  |
Yiannos | 85 97th |
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S.O.T.B is an extraordinary film that operates on numerous levels: as a poetic rumination on childhood, as a critique of Franco era Spain, and as a desolate portrait of a nation in stasis. Erice's landscapes resonate with sadness and longing, expressing the quiet resignation and defeat of the Spanish people under the grip of tyranny. The beautiful honey colored imagery channels the Dutch masters, richly evoking a bygone era in warm earth tones, while the symbolism is both opaque and obvious.
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| 1 |  |
dardan | 95 98th |
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Presence through abscence. The core of this film is a dismembered silence: that which would lead to censorship has been censored, and yet this silence speaks. The deep sense of lacking connection pervading each cell or family, even within the family itself, combined with the desolation both descriptive of the town and the mental states carried by the children, but also the fragility, are all torrenting in the undercurrent.
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| 1 |  |
NathanBates | 60 34th |
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This is a "moody" film: it's meant to evoke that spirit of childhood and sense of amazement as children learn about their surroundings. Unfortunately, there's no plot, and the characters are all pretty hollow. There's a fair amount of symbolism (and my knowledge of the Spanish Civil War hampers me here) and it's quite beautiful in spots. It just didn't click with me, and I don't remember much that made me want to revisit it to see what I was missing.
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| 1 | HoneyB | 95 98th |
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Loss of innocence on a grand scale seen through the eyes of an innocent little girl.
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| 1 |  |
nobamba | 50 45th |
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It's beautiful and I don't know enough historical context to really appreciate the film. I spent most of it being anxious that something bad would happen to the kids. Fav scene: creepy human anatomy figure.
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| 1 |  |
JonnyHalftab | 84 46th |
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"The important thing is that your daughter is alive, ALIVE!". I thought both of the main characters were boys for the first 30 minutes. I found some moments truly unsettling. The sound design and freeze frame when the last kid jumped over the fire creeped me out for some reason
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| Average Percentile 73.63% from 1206 Ratings |  |