{"id":6,"date":"2007-01-30T01:04:09","date_gmt":"2007-01-30T00:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=6"},"modified":"2013-10-30T11:33:40","modified_gmt":"2013-10-30T10:33:40","slug":"the-spirit-of-the-beehive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2007\/01\/30\/the-spirit-of-the-beehive\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> DVD

\nRelease date:<\/B> 27 October 2003

\nDistributor:<\/B> Optimum Home Entertainment

\nDirector:<\/B> V\u00edctor Erice

\nOriginal title:<\/B> El Esp\u00ed\u00adritu de la colmena

\nCast:<\/B> Fernando Ferná Gó, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent
\n

\nSpain 1973

\n93 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

V\u00edctor Erice’s 1973 classic is a wonderfully dreamy, slow-paced evocation of rural Spain just after the end of the Civil War, seen through the eyes of six-year-old Ana. Set in the barren plains of Castile, the film starts with the projection of James Whale’s Frankenstein<\/I>, brought to the village by a travelling cinema. After seeing the film, impressionable Ana becomes obsessed with meeting the monster. Eschewing the rules of a conventional plot, the film proceeds to paint the vivid imaginary world of childhood by weaving together subtle, suggestive imagery. Particularly beautiful are the intimate, honey-hued, candle-lit night scenes in which Ana and her sister whisper stories about the monster. Particularly revealing are the games they play, from the more innocent to the more unsettling ones, from pillow fights to playing dead. <\/p>\n

The Spirit of the Beehive<\/I> provides an impressive example of the creative benefits that can come from budgetary constraints. Lack of funds prevented Erice from making a horror film, as was his original idea. Instead, he used a classic horror film as the starting point of his work, infusing it with an understated Gothic mood all the more potent as it is found in the ordinary, as when little Ana walks through a cascade of half open doors, alone in the dark, big house. The moral ambiguity that surrounds the monster in Frankenstein<\/I> is further explored and given depth, as it resonates, through Ana’s encounter with the wounded soldier, with the confusion and ambivalence of a country torn apart by Civil War. <\/p>\n

The film is economical with words, the elliptical plot carried forward almost entirely visually. Erice’s lightness of touch avoids obvious metaphorical meanings and lets the juxtaposition of poetic images and strong scenes build a rich, poignant, complex world, the compelling atmosphere enhanced by a masterful use of light. The result is a haunting masterwork that elegantly connects the trauma of a whole country to the personal trauma of a little girl confronted with death. <\/p>\n

Virginie S\u00e9lavy<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ví\u00ad\u00c2\u00adctor Erice’s 1973 classic is a wonderfully dreamy, slow-paced evocation of rural Spain just after the end of the Civil War, seen through the eyes of six-year-old Ana. Set in the barren plains of Castile, the film starts with the projection of James Whale’s Frankenstein<\/I>, brought to the village by a travelling cinema.
\nReview by Virginie Sélavy<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[158,726],"class_list":["post-6","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dvds-and-blu-rays","tag-spanish-cinema","tag-victor-erice"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/purUP-6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2007\/01\/04\/innocence\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":0},"title":"Innocence","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"January 4, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Based on a nineteenth-century short story by Frank Wedekind, Innocence is the debut feature of Lucile Hadzihalilovic, a long-time collaborator of controversial French director Gaspar No\u00e9 (Irr\u00e9versible, Seul contre tous). A dreamy Gothic fairy tale, its slow-paced portrayal of female childhood is imbued with a deliberately old-fashioned feel. Review by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Home entertainment"","block_context":{"text":"Home entertainment","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/dvds-and-blu-rays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Innocence","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Innocence-594x396.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Innocence-594x396.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Innocence-594x396.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1724,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2011\/06\/10\/cria-cuervos\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":1},"title":"Cr&#237a Cuervos","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"June 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Shot in the summer of 1975 as General Franco lay dying, Carlos Saura's masterpiece is a haunting reflection on memory, loss, history and transmission. Review by Virginie S\u00e9lavy","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/review_CRIA_CUERVOS-594x386.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/review_CRIA_CUERVOS-594x386.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/review_CRIA_CUERVOS-594x386.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2007\/05\/03\/the-night-of-the-sunflowers\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":2},"title":"THE NIGHT OF THE SUNFLOWERS","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"May 3, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"La Noche de los girasoles (Night of the Sunflowers) starts with two separate stories that are interwoven: the discovery of a cave that may or may not drastically change the fortunes of a small northern Spanish village, and the murder of a girl found in some nearby sunflower fields. Review\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cinema releases"","block_context":{"text":"Cinema releases","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/cinema-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5061,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2014\/10\/09\/the-duke-of-burgundy\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":3},"title":"The Duke of Burgundy","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"October 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Peter Strickland\u2019s ambitious lesbian sub\/dom drama is a wonderfully strange riot of patterns, corsets and butterflies. Review by Mark Stafford","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Duke of Burgundy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/The-Duke-of-Burgundy-594x357.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/The-Duke-of-Burgundy-594x357.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/The-Duke-of-Burgundy-594x357.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":385,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2008\/07\/01\/savage-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":4},"title":"SAVAGE GRACE","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"July 1, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"A spellbinding tale of luxury, incest, madness and matricide, the film recounts the glittering rise and tragic fall of the aspiring American socialite Barbara Daly (a wonderfully versatile Julianne Moore), who married into the incredibly wealthy Baekeland family, and her unhinged relationship with her son Tony (Eddy Redmayne). Review by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cinema releases"","block_context":{"text":"Cinema releases","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/cinema-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":127,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2007\/07\/01\/quai-des-orfevres\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":5},"title":"QUAI DES ORFEVRES","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"July 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The film is a seemingly effortless evocation of the low life in 1940s Paris - a shadowed, intimate, but open world through which ugly and beautiful, young and old, victim, suspect, and pursuer move freely. Review by Peter Momtchiloff","rel":"","context":"In "Home entertainment"","block_context":{"text":"Home entertainment","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/dvds-and-blu-rays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3744,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions\/3744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}