Watch 'The Spirit of the Beehive' Online Streaming (Full Movie)

The Spirit of the Beehive

1973, Movie, 1h 37min

Criterion is proud to present Víctor Erice’s spellbinding THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (EL ESPÍRITU DE LA COLMENA), widely regarded as the greatest Spanish film of the 1970s. In a small Castilian village in 1940, in the wake of the country’s devastating civil war, six-year-old Ana attends a traveling movie show of Frankenstein and becomes possessed by the memory of it. Produced as Franco’s long regime was nearing its end, THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE is a bewitching portrait of a child’s haunted inner life and one of the most visually arresting movies ever made.

Country: Spain

Director:

Víctor Erice

Cast:

Fernando Fernán Gómez,

Laly Soldevila,

Teresa Gimpera,

José Villasante

Reviews

Kasper Løvborg

rated

The children are fantastic. Ana Torrent carries the film so beautifully. 'The Spirit of the Beehive' is a movie where much seems to be going on underneath the surface but on my first-time watch I was completely engrossed with (and fully ...

4 years ago

Critic David Parkinson

rated

...Victor Erice's masterly discourse on juvenile psychology is an elliptical, lyrical exploration of myth, misunderstanding, deception and illusion that defies precise interpretation.

Read full review at Empire

Critic Kim Newman

rated

...one of those films that has stuck in the minds of everyone who saw it, and proved surprisingly influential.

Read full review at Empire

Critic Roger Ebert

rated

It is simple, solemn, and in the casting of young Ana Torrent, takes advantage of her open, innocent features.

Read full review at Roger Ebert

Michael Thomsen

rated

Den spanske klassiker der inspirerede Guillermo Del Toro's "Pans Labyrinth"... noget mere obskur og arty end Pan, men stadig poetisk og hypnotisk. Plus den var nødt til at være lidt obskur i sin tematik, da den kritiserede Franco&#x...

2 years ago

Frequently asked questions

What is The Spirit of the Beehive about? Toggle content

In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, a young girl named Ana becomes obsessed with the movie Frankenstein and drifts into her own fantasy world after watching it. She believes that the monster is not dead and exists as a spirit, and she sets out to find him. Along the way, she discovers a wounded republican soldier hiding in a sheepfold and helps him, but he is eventually killed by the Francoist police. Ana's family and the villagers search for her, but she is found safe and sound, though she withdraws from her family and continues to call out to the monster's spirit.

Where can I stream The Spirit of the Beehive? Toggle content

You can stream The Spirit of the Beehive on: The Criterion Channel

What movies are similar to The Spirit of the Beehive? Toggle content

Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as The Spirit of the Beehive include Jubilee, Omen, The Magus, Pink Narcissus, Léonor, The Iron Rose.

When was The Spirit of the Beehive released in theaters? Toggle content

The Spirit of the Beehive was released in theaters on October 8, 1973.