'The Spirit of the Beehive'

This film was released in the waning years of the Franco dictatorship, which regularly censored and nixed a number of films considered critical of the regime.

How this one snuck through is a mystery.

Where the censors asleep? Didn't they realize this was a gigantic allegory for the Franco governement and Spain as a whole? Because it was pretty freaking clear that Victor Erice was making a pretty big statement.

Is it easy to enjoy a film that's entire purpose is allegorical? Hardly. This is a very beautiful film. The cinematography was perfect and it didn't take much for it to turn into an aesthetically pleasing film.

It's just, there's no story because Erice is too busy kicking Franco and Co. square in the nuts. I kept feeling I was missing out on quite a bit because the silence and looks were screaming at me and I couldn't quite figure it all out.

Still, a fine movie.