I have said that my enthusiasm has gone, but I was wrong: I found and bought—just by accident—a fine movie that is, in my opinion, on the same level as Jeux Interdits and Ponette. It feels better every time I watch it.

I bet Dante knows this, and probably others, at least Baldur.

The main character, young Ana Torrent, 7, has wide dark eyes and very finely shaped, delicate and sculptural features that are difficult to forget; her face is like that of a porcelain doll or a painting of a young madonna. And as someone says, she is definitely among the elite of the child actors in the world.

In the movie her older sister is Isabel (Isabel Tellería).


"The Spirit of the Beehive (Spanish: El espíritu de la colmena) is a 1973 Spanish drama film directed by Víctor Erice. The film was Erice's debut and is considered a masterpiece of Spanish cinema."

"The film focuses on the young girl Ana and her fascination with the 1931 American horror film Frankenstein, as well as exploring her family life and schooling. The film has been called a 'bewitching portrait of a child’s haunted inner life'."

"Six-year-old Ana is a shy girl who lives in the manor house in an isolated Spanish village..."

"Ana Torrent, with her severe, beautiful little face, provides an eerily unflappable presence to center the film. The one time she smiles, it's like a small miracle, a glimpse of grace amid the uneasiness of black cats, hurtling black trains, devouring fire and poisonous mushrooms. These signs of dismay haunt the movie."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_of_the_Beehive


"The spirit of the beehive by Victor Erice is one of the most beautiful and arresting films ever made in Spain, or anywhere in the past 25 years or so. “The Spirit of the Beehive” can partly be read as an allegorical account of a country living under the dark shadow of an authoritarian regime. In contrast to their lively children, the traumatised adults appear to have retreated into their own preoccupations: the father is obsessed with bees, whilst the mother writes and post letters to an unknown person. Yet in conjuring up a ghostly world, and in privileging atmosphere over plot, Victor Erice explores the fears and anxieties of childhood. Shot in muted golds, yellows and browns, masterfully deployed shadow and light and expressively played by its two young leads, it is a work which memorably captures a child’s perspective on the mysteries of everyday life."

http://www.valerydemure.com/agency/2013/02/children-in-films/


"Ana (Ana Torrent) lives in a small (Castilian) village that is showing Frankenstein for the first time. While Ana wonders endlessly about the monster’s intentions, she stumbles upon a wounded revolutionary soldier who is hiding in a barn. The soldier’s death at the hands of the Francoist police, and Ana’s father’s (Fernando Fernán Gómez) anger over the situation lead to a strange hallucination in which Ana meets Frankenstein’s monster in the woods."

"Erice’s film is not only a subtle examination of Franco’s power, but it also introduced the world to Ana Torrent, a dark-eyed child whose powerful gaze represented both an inquisitive youth and a rebellious spirit. Ana examines the world through an escapist fantasy, which takes her away from the realities of war. She represents the innocent generation of Spain that was unaware of Franco’s power and oppression."

http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/25-great-films-about-childhood-that-are-worth-your-time/2/


The music in the following video is not from the original movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7TbkqBluzg

You can easily find good video clips from this movie: just go to Bing.com, then videos, then search for "espiritu de la colmena".

*** And while we are at this, why not open then very first (top left) link my right-clicking it? If you understand Spanish... The quality is not very good if you view it full-screen. But it can be changed. It takes almost 20 minutes before you see the girls, but then you see them all the time.


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I just throw together some comments said about the film and Ana:

"I’ve seen it three times now — once on the big screen, once on my laptop, and once in a classroom with 15 undergraduate students. It holds up every time, which is remarkable given how patiently the story and its characters unfold, and how little speech there is in the film. Victor Erice‘s THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE moves from philosophical to morbid to lighthearted to melancholy via the simplest filmic gestures; and, of course, there is Ana Torrent‘s stunning little face, which moves through these registers and emotions with the same seamlessness and beauty. Definitely among my top 5 of all time."

"I'd call Ana Torrent the little girl James Dean, but she's better than James Dean. She possesses the magic light of a secret, like all truly great actors. The presence of so many of the complexities of childhood depend on the nuances of her performance, and the believability and verisimilitude of these films are partially a product of her strengths."

"She's a girl with tremendous eyes..."

"Ana’s eyes are heartbreaking. She is perfect, really."

http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/kurosawa503/imgs/a/2/a203db0d-s.jpg
http://www.realidadesinexistentes.com/blogs/realidades/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/480397888_257ab41c72.jpeg
http://thecinemaguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extrait_the-spirit-of-the-beehive_0.jpg


"Spirit of the Beehive remains the best from Spain - and for all the qualities already mentioned, its intimacy, sense of wonder, superlative performance by Ana. Oh, her whispered bedtime conversations with her sister, the scene with the cat… enchanting indeed. Erice achieves something magical and miraculous with Ana and the film overall, and yes it grows with further viewings. As for Quince Tree Sun i must admit i found it less than enthralling when it came out but having since discovered just how good Lopez Garcia is (one of the very best) i might get more from it now."

"This is the still from it I have in my room. There are more visually beautiful shots in the film, but this one always fascinates me, especially after I heard Erice’s words on it where he says that this is a completely real reaction from Ana Torrent watching Frankenstein, and states that it is “the most important moment I have ever captured on film.”

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QMa-kdacnNc/TZTmPW76eYI/AAAAAAAABuw/ZbjL2X91-lo/s1600/beehive-gazecopy.png


If you haven't seen this film, I recommend it to you: it is one of the must-see movies! She is 7 in this movie.

Three years later she acted in Cria Cuervos (Raise Ravens) by Carlos Saura, where she she is a bigger little girl; the movie character—Ana again—is 8 years old. I haven't seen this film yet, but now I remember that I have heard about it.

The theme song of Cria! is Porque te vas, a familiar song. "Despite an infectious rhythm the song has sad and poignant lyrics. The song expresses the fact that Ana has no understanding of death, only of absence."

http://www.criterion.com/films/519-cria-cuervos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO_dTwr34Uo

Maybe Bing videos again... I will try it tomorrow.