The Spirit of the Beehive

1973 1h 39m ES

🙌

7.6

BANGER

🔥

93%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.7

IMDB

★7.6TMDB · 417🍅93%Rotten Tomatoes●87Metacritic★7.7IMDB · 22,046

DramaFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1940, in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, a young girl living on the Castilian plain is haunted after attending a screening of James Whale's 1931 film Frankenstein and hearing from her sister that the monster is not dead, instead existing as a spirit inhabiting a nearby barn.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Ana Torrent
Ana
Fernando Fernán Gómez
Fernando
Teresa Gimpera
Teresa
Isabel Tellería
Isabel
Laly Soldevila
Doña Lucía
Miguel Picazo
Médico
José Villasante
Frankenstein
Juan Margallo
Fugitivo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Víctor Erice
Writers: Ángel Fernández Santos, Víctor Erice
Languages: Spanish
Countries: Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Víctor Erice, shot by Luis Cuadrado. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Luis de Pablo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Pablo G. del Amo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

ERA

Did you know

Ana Torrent and Fernando Fernán Gómez and Teresa Gimpera carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0070040 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Víctor Erice directs. Luis Cuadrado behind the camera. Luis de Pablo scores. Pablo G. del Amo cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Spain. Dialogue in Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

153 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Víctor Erice, shot by Luis Cuadrado. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Luis de Pablo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Pablo G. del Amo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Ana Torrent and Fernando Fernán Gómez and Teresa Gimpera carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0070040 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Classified under 8 themes, including "monster", "beehive", "baby-snatching", "spanish civil war (1936-39)".

The technical file

Cinematography: Luis Cuadrado
Original score: Luis de Pablo
Editing: Pablo G. del Amo
Production design: Adolfo Cofiño
Costume design: Peris
Makeup / hair: Ramón de Diego
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: ES
IMDB: The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 87/100
IMDB rating: 7.7/10 · 22,046 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

7 wins & 1 nomination total

Golden Shell

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Víctor Erice

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2014-10-11
★ 8/10
Good movie about children's world and believes with magnificent Fernando Fernán Gómez and really good performance from Ana Torrent. The script is really good and depicts pretty well a stage in Spanish countryside life after the civil war. A must to be seen.
Salim Martínez2026-05-27
Me enamoré de esta película. Tan profunda, tan tierna y vivaz. Quizá porque apela a esa ingenua imaginación que todos tuvimos alguna vez. Esa imaginación que nos permitía ir más allá, ser realmente libres y escapar de la colmena en la que vivíamos. ¿Dónde quedaron aquellos dulces momentos? Probablemente no volverán, pero conviene recordar que un espíritu no puede morir. Que TU espíritu no puede morir. Si eres su amigo, puedes hablar con él cuando quieras. Solo cierra los ojos y llámalo... Muera el franquismo y toda forma de fascismo. I fell in love with this film. So profound, so tender and full of life. Perhaps because it speaks to that naïve imagination we all once had. That imagination that allowed us to go beyond, to be truly free, and to escape the hive we lived in. Where did those sweet moments go? They will probably never return, but it is worth remembering that a spirit cannot die. That YOUR spirit cannot die. If you are its friend, you can speak to it whenever you wish. Just close your eyes and call for it... Death to francoism and every form of fascism.

Production companies