"Erice's remarkable film sees rural Spain soon after Franco's victory as a wasteland of inactivity, thrown into relief by the doomed industriousness of bees in their hives. The single, fragile spark of 'liberation' exists in the mind of little Ana, who dreams of meeting the gentle monster from James Whale's Frankenstein, and befriends a fugitive soldier just before he is caught and shot. A haunting mood-piece that dispenses with plot and works its spells through intricate patterns of sound and image." (Time Out) Voted one of the top 100 films of all time in Time Out's Centenary of Cinema poll of directors, critics and programmers.
1973, color, 1 hour 35 minutes, Spain