SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE

You should check out this wonderful little Spanish gem from Director Victor Erice. Mind you, I haven't seen many Spanish films, but this is definitely the best, and one the best films in general that I've ever seen. I'm looking forward to seeing some more of this directors' work.

Overall, this film has a very dark and haunting quality to it which is complimented wonderfully by famous composer Luis de Pablo's score.

This visually elegant "poem of awakening" takes place in a small Castilian village in the early 1940s, as traces of the Spanish Civil War are still found throughout the countryside. Ana (played by 6 year old Ana Torrent) is introduced to James Whale's classic tale of Frankenstein, an experience that forever changes her perception of the world around her.

This has to be one of the most amazing and unforgettable child performances I've ever seen. She really charmed me. Very cute kid. Actually, I don't even think she was acting, it seemed so natural. Now she's pretty hot, there's an interview with her on the extras disc. She was haunted by the experience of that movie for years, so it goes. The other child actor, Isabel Telleria, is also wonderful, playing Ana's sister, Isabel, who's always teasing Ana or trying to scare her.

The other main characters are the mother and father, who don't really have much dialogue in the film at all. The father pretty much keeps to himself most of the time working as a solitary, obsessive beekeeper and the mother spends her time dreaming about her exiled lover.

The Spirit of the Beehive is basically a captivating study of childhood unhindered by the limitations of the adult world. You'll find lots of visual symbolism and metaphor, yet it's never overdone, arty farty or artificial. Everything is tastefully done to perfection, the lighting, the details, the framing, the colors. This is simply one of the masterpieces of cinema.