alr

The Spirit of the Beehive
(El Espíritu de la colmena)

Screening on Film
Directed by Victor Erice.
With Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent.
Spain, 1973, 35mm, color, 98 min.

The Spirit of the Beehive is a haunting allegorical film on innocence and illusion, set in post-Civil War Spain. Ana and Isabel, two lonely young sisters, see the film Frankenstein at a makeshift theater. Ana, unsettled by the brutal acts of the monster and the townspeople in the film, desperately seeks explanation. Taking her to an abandoned barn, Isabel claims to see the immortal spirit of the monster in the well; Ana becomes obsessed with the idea of befriending it. The Spirit of the Beehive is a deceptively lyrical tale of idyllic childhood memories and a disturbing portrait of isolation.

Part of film series

Read more

Treasures from the Harvard Film Archive: Directors E–J

Other film series with this film

Read more

Treasures From The Harvard Film Archive

Read more

The Afterlives of Frankenstein

Read more

Victor Erice, Full Circle

Current and upcoming film series

Read more

Harvard Undergraduate Cinematheque

Read more

Albert Serra, or Cinematic Time Regained

Read more

Wang Bing’s Youth Trilogy

Read more

The Shochiku Centennial Collection

Read more

Planet at 50

Read more

The Yugoslav Junction Continues!

Read more

Theo Anthony, Subject to Review

Read more

The Ideal Cinematheque of the Outskirts of the World

Read more

From the collection – Satyajit Ray