Spirit of the Beehive is set in a remote Castillian village in 1940's, post civil war
Spain. Few other films have reflected the psychological state of Spain with such
accuracy and effectiveness. It is a fascinating, underplayed drama, which builds
interest and tension. Erice expertly uses non professional actors for his characters.
The photography is stunning, sometimes reflecting the simplistic nature of the girls surroundings, sometimes full of symbolism. A small, leaded, arched window, glazed
with thick, amber glass represents a honey comb.

Two little girls attend a travelling film show that has come to their village. It is
showing James Whale's 1931 version of 'Frankenstein" with Boris Karloff. One of
the clips of 'Frankenstein' shown in the movie, is the scene after the monster
befriends the little girl in the village, he is by a river with her and they are floating
flowers on the water. The next scene shown in the 'Frankenstein' movie is the little
girl being carried from the river by her father, drowned, which leads us to believe
the monster has purposely murdered her. Spirit of the Beehive has the scene, edited
from the original movie, showing the monster trying to float the little girl on the
water, he believes that, like the flowers, because she is as pretty as them, she will
float too. The censors decided this was too grueling for the viewing public to stomach,
so they demanded it be edited from the movie. In reality, it had the opposite effect.
This is the only time the clip has been used in a movie. I wish they would put it back
where it belongs!

The movie has a profound effect on of the girls. They happen across a tramp sleeping
in a nearby barn, he is, initially fairly aggressive towards them. This leads one of the
girls, still very influenced by the film they have just seen, immediate to think he is the Frankenstein monster. From here on the movie seems to become mirrored in their
own lives. They feel sorry for the way the Karloff character was treated and and, misguidedly, think it is their duty to make amends by helping the tramp. They let him
remain hidden, sheltering in the barn where they bring him food. Throughout the film
the paralysing effect of Franco's dictatorial regime is atmospherically combined with
the poetic portrayal of the fantasy world of childhood. You are never quite sure how
much of a threat to the safety of the children this man really is. It seems only natural
to transfer the Frankenstein monsters attributes to him, especially as this is where
Erice appears to be guiding us, but this is too simplistic.