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The Spirit of the Beehive (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

Ana Torrent (Actor), Isabel Telleria (Actor), Victor Erice (Director) Rated:
NR
Format: DVD
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 249 ratings
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January 8, 2013
The Criterion Collection
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Genre Drama
Format NTSC
Contributor Ana Torrent, Isabel Telleria, Fernando Fernan Gomez, Teresa Gimpera, Victor Erice
Language English
Runtime 1 hour and 39 minutes
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Product Description

The Criterion Collection is proud to present Victor Erice's THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (El espiritu de la colmena), widely regarded as the greatest Spanish film of the 1970s. In a small Castilian village in 1940, directly following the country's devastating civil war, six-year-old Ana attends a traveling movie show of Frankenstein and becomes haunted by her memory of it. Produced by one of cinema's most mysterious auteurs as Franco's long regime was nearing its end, THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE is both a bewitching portrait of a child's inner life and an elusive, cloaked meditation on a nation trapped under tyranny.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.72 ounces
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ 715515103213
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Victor Erice
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 39 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ January 8, 2013
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Ana Torrent, Isabel Telleria, Fernando Fernan Gomez, Teresa Gimpera
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Criterion Collection
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009VO9XSG
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 249 ratings

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
249 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Susan Z. Swan
5.0 out of 5 stars be persistent
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2007
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Many first time viewers of The Spirit of the Beehive will watch it and go "huh?" As a result, they may decide that art film (or international film) is beyond them OR that it is a bad film. Neither is true if some basic preparations are made. Not everyone comes ready made to understand a great work of art -- nor should we feel guilty because we aren't. Some simple backgrounding can make all the difference.

Several specific simple preparations can help. (1)Read up a little on the Spanish Civil War. This can help set the time and place of the film. Even a skimming of Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls could help adjust one's mind. (2) Watch Whale's film "Frankenstein." This can set a psychological context. Ana, as a little girl, is growing into an awareness of her Self and her world -- so too is Frankenstein's monster. It also helps set a literal context -- how else can one understand the relationship between the monster and Ana in Beehive if one doesn't understand the incident in "Frankenstein" between the monster and the little girl he accidentally kills. (3) Re-read a traditional fairy tale or two (not Disney, try Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm). This will help establish the "once upon a time-ish" way of thinking of Beehive. Remember how often the children in fairy tales are abandoned -- one or both of their parents are dead, the remaining parent is often separated from their own children either because s/he is preoccupied with putting food on the table or is lost in memories of the past. Think too of the relationship between siblings in fairy tales -- while the older sister in Beehive is not quite the ugly stepsister of narrative fame, she is not above the (fairly normal) petty torture of her little sister. (4) Look at a few of Vermeer's paintings and read a bit about his use of light. This can help one "get" the visual aesthetic that Beehive captures. (5) Read a few reviews. Don't assume they are right (or wrong) -- read them to get a sense of what to look for in the film and what others have appreciated (or not) about Beehive.

Finally, there is one other very important strategy to appreciate Beehive -- watch it more than once. Even a popcorn flick takes more than one viewing to catch the subtle details. So why feel we must "get" a more demanding film in one sitting. Watch it the first time for a general sense of what is going on (or, in the case of Beehive, a general sense of bafflement). Try to figure out who is who (printing out a cast list from IMDB helps!) Then watch it again. The storyline starts to make more sense and the dreaminess seems to have more purpose. Like the honey hidden away in the comb of a real beehive, the sweetness of the film emerges and one realizes that this poetic journey into awareness really does offer us something for understanding ourselves and our world more fully. What more could one want?
54 people found this helpful
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Bartolomé Mesa
5.0 out of 5 stars CINEMATIC POETRY WITH THE WRONG ASPECT RATIO
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2006
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I am Spanish and I do beleive this is one of the geatest films in the history of Spanish cinema. I won't repeat the reasons given by reviewers here and elsewhere. So I'll come to the point. I eagerly awaited the Criterion edition to give away my old DVD copy released in Spain by Manga films. After all Criterion has gained an oustanding reputation for the great care they take in their editions. Well, their transfer looks certainly better than the one in the Spanish release, everything bathed in a warm honey colour. A bit grainy at times, the grain may be present in the negative. But the aspect ratio looked wrong to me and when I compared it with my Spanish edition I realized the picture has been zoomed to fill as much as possible the widesreen, with unnecesary loss of picture information at the top and the bottom. I wonder why even Criterion is so afraid of having black bars at the left and right of the screen. It may seem a small point, but in a film like this one the whole frame should be respected. I can't imagine Erice approving this compromise. But even if he did, it was wrong. The framing looks much better in my old copy. Now I cannot give it away. And in my rating I must drop a star just for that. Shame.
73 people found this helpful
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David Michael Cohen
5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2001
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There is so much to recommend in "Spirit of the Beehive" that it is hard for a reviewer to know where to begin. As other reviewers have pointed out, the cinematography and the performance delivered by the lead actress are among the best ever filmed. I also enjoyed the musical score, which was largely delivered with a single woodwind, but its simplicity only enhanced its impact. Some viewers may find it difficult to watch in part because of its almost oppressive atmosphere and in part because little is overtly explained about the characters or their situation. The latter is because it is a portrayal of life under the rule of Franco, filmed in 1973 while Franco was still alive. The vaugeness helped keep the censors from blacklisting the film, but it looses none of its power despite its caution. In watching this film, one is drawn into the lonely plight of the main character, and its only through great effort that a viewer can keep from reaching out to hold her. Descriptions cannot do it justice, however. I can only recommned that you see it, and then only when you are in a mood where your mind can be open and your heart needs touching.
22 people found this helpful
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robert p.
4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful photography
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2013
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A very slow moving film , it is easy to get discouraged, but it pays off in the end, due to the beautiful visual images.
This is simply a few days in the lives of two little girls. Just like life itself it sometimes surprises but mostly it just passes.
The photography is excellent and the girls are charming. The interview with the director makes one realize the reason for the
story. Watching it again after that makes it much more enjoyable. Being a Criterion product the quality is superb.
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quint
5.0 out of 5 stars Spirit of Cinema
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2011
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I chanced across Spirit of the Beehive in a 100 best foreign language film list and made it a mind to watch it just after seeing one screenshot.
This highly under-rated and lesser known film is a masterpiece of Victor Erice that chronicles a few days in the lives of two girls in a small town in Spain. They see Frankenstein in a traveling road show and the younger sister is unable to come to terms with the confusing ideals of good and evil she has seen on screen. We see the girls through each others' eyes and then contrast it with their parents who seem to have lives that are clearly tainted by something from their histories.
Shot beautifully, each frame is mesmerizing. The child actors are so natural, occasionally through the movie one has flashbacks of scenes from their own childhood.
A metaphor for General Franco's unending regime, the film works even as a beautiful story of childhood.
If I had to write that list, I would include this in the top 10.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Annik Ouellette
5.0 out of 5 stars Un cadeau pour les cinéphiles!
Reviewed in Canada on December 20, 2019
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Superbe réalisation de la copie du film.
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fabio
5.0 out of 5 stars Uno dei capisaldi del cinema mondiale
Reviewed in Italy on August 16, 2018
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Film in versione originale con sottotitoli in inglese. Opera molto delicata che mescola storia e mito adottando il punto di vista dell'infanzia. Il miglior film di Victor Erice
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Amazon カスタマー
5.0 out of 5 stars 個人的に懐かしい映画
Reviewed in Japan on March 4, 2024
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35年近く前、東京で学生だった頃、映画を熱く語る友達がいて、最初の1本として勧められたのが、ミツバチのささやきでした。
映画と言えばＥＴとかエイリアンと思っていた自分にとっては、かなり衝撃でした。
それ以来、学生時代はヨーロッパ映画にハマりました。
地元に戻り、映画はあまり見なくなってしまいましたが、突然また当時見ていた映画が見たくなり、最初の1本として購入しました。
そうそう、これ、懐かしい思いで見ました。
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J. L. Sievert
5.0 out of 5 stars A monster stalks the land
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2015
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Childhood is a time when the world is still formless, not yet solid, when dreams and reality overlap, when everything looks and feels magical, when our days and minds are dominated by curiosity, wonder, discovery, confusion. What is this place, this world? Why am I here and how did I come to be in it? What does it mean and where did all this beauty come from?

We look at the world as children do in Victor Erice's cinematic masterpiece, The Spirit of the Beehive, the greatest Spanish film of the 1970s.

Ana is only 7. Isabel, her older sister, is 10. They live in a remote Castilian village. The year is 1940, a time when civil war rages in Spain. The father of Ana and Isabel is a beekeeper. He is aloof and remote, not because he wants to ignore his children. Other things distress him: politics and war, perhaps, or something more personal. His wife, the mother of his children, is distant too, preoccupied. She cycles to the train station several times a week, letters in hand, not trusting them to anyone but the postman. They are love letters. She is lonely for the love of someone who is absent. The husband notices of course, but pretends not to, and she in turn pretends not to notice that he pretends not to notice. The Buddhists call this condition samsara, the wheel of endless suffering.

The bees and hives become the father's meditation. The apiary is orderly, disciplined, egalitarian. The hive works together for the good of all. Why can't man be like this? Why are his communities so weak and flimsy? Why does he think war will bring anything other than long-lasting suffering?

Ana and Isabel are alone in their world, the only people. They share it with ghosts, goblins, spirits. Isabel the wise one, the older one, has stories to tell. Ana listens with big eyes, stock still. Her sister, she knows, is an oracle.

At night Ana is afraid. Spirits wander through the darkness. She knows this because Isabel said so. Besides, she feels them. She stays under the covers of her bedding where it is safe. "Isabel" she whispers again and again in the dark. But Isabel doesn't answer. She is asleep in her own bed in the room. Ana is alone in the darkness — alone with monsters that roam the land.

Once a month the movie truck comes to the village. A makeshift screen in set up in the village hall. A projector and reels are brought in. The children sit restlessly on their wooden chairs. They are anxious, excited, worried. They have heard of the monster before, this terrible being who has come to their village. They have seen his awful face on the tattered movie poster outside. He is ugly and mean. His name is Frankenstein.

A hush when the movie begins, then delighted giggles as the images move and dance through the darkened hall. Then later, gasps, squeals, screams as the monster appears, rising like Jesus from the dead, though looking nothing like gentle Jesus. No apostles, either, no joyous weeping. Ana watches the screen, confused and terrified. Frankenstein kills the little girl. Ana can't believe it. Why did he do it? She was innocent, sweet and darling. He didn't mean to but he did it. He drowned her in the lake.

A search party from the village sets out by torchlight to find her but can't. The following day she is found. Her father carries her wet body in his arms through the village.

The world is evil. There are monsters in it. This is what Ana has learned.

Isabel drops a bombshell that night: she has seen the monster, she says. He was near a farmhouse outside the village, and also by a local river. Ana trembles at this news. But she is fascinated, drawn to the world of spirits Isabel knows so well. A deserter from the war hops a train. He jumps from the train near Ana's village. He hobbles to the farmhouse that Isabel has described. Although Isabel is a child of vivid imagination too, Ana believes everything she says. Irresistibly, Ana is drawn to the farmhouse as well. She must see the monster too. He is large, silent, injured. His leg is hurt. Ana brings him food, clothing, her father's pocket watch. But the deserter is found by the authorities and shot. The pocket watch of Ana's father is found with the body. Ana runs away when her father scolds her. She does not come back home that night.

The Castilian village now mirrors the village in the movie. The villagers by torchlight look for the lost child. That night by a local river Ana sees her reflection in the water. But when she looks again it is the monster's reflection she sees. Frankenstein stands behind her as she crouches to look at the river. She turns her head, looks up, sees him. She is tense but does not scream. He kneels down and touches her, just as Frankenstein did with the little girl in the movie.

She is found the next day. She is not dead and wet. She is asleep in a field. She is brought home and put to bed. The doctor says she must rest some days. She is traumatized by something she has seen. It will take her some time to recover.

Ana seems to, but in the end she stands at an open window at night in her house, and into the darkness she says, "It's me. This is Ana." Isabel had told her the spirits would appear if she called out to them with her name. Ana remembers.

A film this dreamy and enigmatic will have many readings and interpretations. Here are three. First, the world of dream is real for children. Second, the adult world has love, deception and anguish in it. Third, monsters may be political. A monster stalks the land and they call him Frankenstein but he may be Franco. He strikes fear into the hearts of his countrymen. He's a traitor to the spirit of Spain, a defiler of decency.

Frankensteins walk among us still. We see them daily in our media. They use violence to get their way. They murder innocents, including children. They even kill girls for wanting to go to school. Adults who cannot love and protect children are failed human beings. That so many of them should exist is one of the moral crises of our age.
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Richard Millwood
1.0 out of 5 stars Wrong version slod
Reviewed in Spain on May 12, 2014
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The version sold to me did not have English subtitles, so the details and the picture of this product are incorrect
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