Spirit of the Beehive (trailer)
It's up to you whether you want to watch the above video before or after reading my post
A couple of days ago, as a reaction to my somewhat negative post on the current movie output, @eeks reminded me of a very important thing. The fact that it is easy to complain about things, but even better to just write about stuff that you like.
I totally agree. Never wanted to be a negative nelly or internet troll. So, instead of ranting about films that I don't like, I will from now on write about movies that I enjoyed a lot. Those that come to mind when I think of examples of films that really stand out - in a positive way - from the thousands that I've seen.
One of the first titles that entered my brainwaves was the Spanish arthouse film El espíritu de la colmena (Spirit of the Beehive). It's a 1973 movie that is as pretty as its title. When rewatching the trailer, just before writing this post, I remembered how much I liked the musical score that accompanies the images.
Instead of going into the story, I will try to give you some reasons - from memory - of why I find this movie so special. I must have watched the film only twice since 2010 or so but it has left a lasting impression. Here's why:
There's a movie in the movie. An element that I often like a lot in cinema. To be a little more precise, there is a screening of the 1933 movie 'Frankenstein' in the little village where the story takes place. This screening influences the little protagonist girl(s) so much that fantasy and reality slowly start to mix.
The actrices are just great. The little Ana Torrent , who has since then developed a pretty great career as an actrice (check out Alejandro Amenabar's 1996 'Tesis' if you get the chance!), is just endearing. There is something about young children in movies that sometimes works very well. It's probably that they don't really act. They are themselves.
The visuals are breathtaking. The film has this kind of magical, surreal feel to it, that is just mesmerizing. I would like to go on and on, but to be able do so without making a fool of myself, I would probably need to rewatch it. Suffice me to say that this film is really, really worth checking out.
I have probably seen about 50 to 100 Spanish movies and this is the one that stands out most. So if you're into European and or Spanish cinema and or arthouse films, there's a chance you enjoy this film too.
After having read the above and/ or having seen the trailer, would you like to see more? Or have you seen this film already? If so, how did you like it? What is/ are your favorite Spanish movie(s)? Feel free to let me know in the reply section. I would love to continue the talk!