THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (El Espíritu de la colmena) Director: Victor Erice Year: 1973 Runtime: 95 min. Country: Spain Language: Spanish with English subtitles Color: Color Format: 16mm

Made under the Franco regime, Victor Erice’s astonishing 1973 feature debut is quite simply one of the most remarkable, influential and purely poignant films to emerge from the 1970s. A bona fide classic of European cinema, the film brought Erice instant and widespread acclaim. An audacious critique of the disastrous legacy of the Spanish Civil War, The Spirit of the Beehive is set in a rural 1940s Spanish village haunted by betrayal and regret. Following a travelling cinema’s screening of James Whale’s Frankenstein, seven year old Ana (Ana Torrent) becomes fascinated with Boris Karloff’s monster. Obsessed with meeting the initially gentle creation, she transfers her entrancement to a wounded army deserter. Atmospherically rendered by legendary cinematographer Luis Cuadrado, it’s impeccably performed by both Torrent and veteran actor Fernando Fernan Gomez in the role of her emotionally scarred, bee-keeping father. Existing in a highly evocative dreamlike state, it’s a powerfully symbolic, richly allegorical tale that is as unique as it is beautiful. "The best Spanish film ever made. By the time it ends it has possessed the viewer completely." — The New York Times "A resonant, mystical voyage into the experience of youth. Those who see it are not likely to forget it in a hurry." — David Sterritt, The Christian Science Monitor     showtime Tuesday, November 15 at 7 pm location THE GREEN ROOM 144 West Street (across from the Comstock Hotel) admission $6 general / $4 GBFS members

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