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The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)93 minDrama, FantasyRating 67/100

Criterion is proud to present Víctor Erice’s spellbinding THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (EL ESPÍRITU DE LA COLMENA), widely regarded as the greatest Spanish film of the 1970s. In a small Castilian village in 1940, in the wake of the country’s devastating civil war, six-year-old Ana attends a traveling movie show of Frankenstein and becomes possessed by the memory of it. Produced as Franco’s long regime was nearing its end, THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE is a bewitching portrait of a child’s haunted inner life and one of the most visually arresting movies ever made.

Cast: Ana Torrent, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Isabel Tellería, Laly Soldevila, Miguel Picazo, José Villasante

Director: Víctor Erice