THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE
"Once upon a time..."
"Someplace in the Castilian plateau,
around 1940."
The movie's coming!
The movie's coming!
Come on, you'll fall.
- How are you doing?
- Hi.
What are you doing here? Go away!
- Look, the movie!
- Wow!
- It's the movie!
- The movie! The movie!
Let me through, let me through.
- When will you show it?
- When?
- It's beautiful, beautiful.
- A horror movie?
Is that all?
- A cowboy movie?
- It's a beautiful movie.
- Are there Indians?
- It's wonderful!
It's the best I've shown.
It's going to be the greatest,
really.
A movie that's... ole!
Tonight, in the town hall,
at 5 o'clock,
there will be cinema
with the movie
"Frankenstein".
The price of the ticket
will be one peseta for adults
and two reales for children.
How's it going, Tomasi?
I hope it's good.
It's magnificent. Magnificent.
Don't start a fire now.
Careful with that brazier.
This film's producers
do not want to present it
without a prior warning.
This is the story
of Dr Frankenstein...
a man of science
who tried to create a living being,
something that only God can do.
It's one
of the strangest stories ever filmed.
It's about the mysteries of creation.
Of life and death.
Prepare yourselves.
You may feel shocked.
You may even feel horrified.
Few films have made such
an impression all over the world.
But I advise you
not to take it too seriously.
Nothing can bring back
the happy days we spent together...
but I pray to God I may have
the joy of seeing you again.
I've always prayed that,
ever since we were separated
during the war.
I still pray for it, in this
remote spot where Fernando,
the girls and I try
to continue surviving.
Only the walls are left
of the house you remember.
I often wonder where the things
we had there ended up.
It's not nostalgia...
It's hard to feel nostalgia
after what we've gone through
these past few years.
But at times, when I look around me
and see so much that's missing,
so much that's destroyed
and also so much sadness,
something tells me
that we've lost, with those things,
our capacity to feel life.
I don't know
if you receive these letters.
The news we hear from outside
is vague and confusing.
Please write soon
so I know you're still alive.
With all my love, Teresa.
Sit down.
Sit down.
He understands me.
Look at that!
Teresa?
Teresa!
Teresa!
Milagros!
Have you seen my wife?
I think she went out.
- Where are the girls?
- At the movie.
Is there any food here?
There must be.
You should eat at the proper time
and come out of the clouds.
Sit down, doctor.
Be patient.
You expected an immediate result?
You have to watch that creature.
It could be dangerous.
Dangerous? You surprise me.
Tell me, haven't you ever
been curious?
What lays beyond
the limit of the known?
You've never wished to see
beyond the clouds and stars?
Or to know what makes trees grow
and shadows change?
If you speak like that,
they call you mad.
But if I could answer
one of these questions,
what eternity is, for example,
I wouldn't care
if they called me mad.
You're young,
overwhelmed by your success.
Wake up and see reality.
A demon whose brain...
Give it time to develop.
It's a perfect brain, doctor.
I can tell you now.
It came from this laboratory.
The brain stolen from my laboratory
belonged to a criminal.
- Will you be long, papa?
- No, I'll just fix the wall.
Why don't you stay
and play with me?
I have things to do, child.
Play with your kitten.
- Goodbye, Father.
- Goodbye...
And be good.
Who are you?
I'm Maria.
Will you play with me?
Would you like one of my flowers?
This is for you and this is for me.
It's like a boat.
See how they float?
Get ready, Maria.
I'll check the roof
and then we'll go to the village.
Isabel...
Why did he kill her?
Why did he kill her?
Silence!
I'll tell you later.
Frankenstein!
By the sign of the Holy Cross,
free us from our enemies,
Lord our God.
In the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Where did you hide the matches?
In the drawer.
Isabel.
What?
Tell me
what you were going to tell me.
- About what?
- About the movie.
Not now, tomorrow.
Now. You promised.
Why did he kill the girl
and why did they kill him later?
You don't know, you're a liar.
They didn't kill him
and he didn't kill the girl.
How do you know?
How do you know they didn't die?
In the movies it's all fake,
it's a trick.
Besides, I saw him
alive.
Where?
In a place I know near the village.
People can't see him.
He only goes out at night.
Is he a ghost?
No, he's a spirit.
Like the spirit Dona Lucia
talks about?
Yes, but spirits don't have bodies.
That's why you can't kill them.
But he had one in the movie.
He had arms, he had feet,
he had everything.
It's a costume they put on
when they go outside.
If he only goes out at night,
how can you talk to him?
I told you he was a spirit.
If you're his friend,
you can talk to him
whenever you want.
Close your eyes...
and call him.
"I'm Ana."
"I'm Ana."
Someone to whom I recently
showed my glass beehive,
the movement of that wheel
like a clock's main wheel.
Someone who saw the constant
agitation of the panels...
the perpetual buzzing,
enigmatic and maddened,
of the drones over the nests...
the bridges and stairways
that form the wax cells
the invading spiral of the queen...
the diverse and unceasing
activity of the masses...
the ruthless and useful effort...
the comings and goings
with feverish intensity...
the ignored sleeplessness
that announces tomorrow's work.
The final repose of death...
in a place that tolerates
neither sickness nor tombs...
Someone who watched these things,
after staring in awe,
quickly looked away,
his face showing
a nameless and sad horror.
Two and two is four.
Four and two is six.
Six and two is eight,
plus eight is sixteen...
plus eight is twenty-four,
plus eight is thirty-two.
Holy souls I kneel to.
Good. All right.
Put away your things.
Quiet!
Quiet!
Don Jose will get angry.
Good morning, Don Jose.
Good morning, Don Jose.
Poor Don Jose!
Who put him in this state?
You did, teacher!
Let's see, Paulita.
What is Don Jose missing?
- His heart.
- Good. Put it on.
Mari Carmen,
what is the heart for?
For breathing.
Well, you're all so clever
and you laugh.
- So what do we breathe with?
- The lungs.
Show us them.
Put his lungs on.
Put them on him.
Very good.
What is the stomach for?
To put food in.
Good. Put it on him.
Very good. Sit down.
Pay attention.
Don Jose can walk. He can breathe.
He can eat. But...
There's still something
very, very important
he's missing.
His bones.
- His bones.
- His ears.
Ana...
You're very quiet.
What is Don Jose missing?
- His eyes.
- His...
Quiet, Isabel.
Answer when I ask you.
- His eyes.
- Very good.
Come and put them on him.
Don Jose can see now.
See the house with the well?
- Does he live there?
- Yes.
Do you want to go there?
All right.
Isabel!
Mother asked about you
this afternoon.
She wanted to know where you were.
I said you were still at school.
Did you go to the well?
Yes.
Did you see him?
No.
Sure, he doesn't know you.
Father's coming!
Father's coming!
Father, here's one.
- Here's another.
- I'll be right there.
It's bad.
How much do you bet it's good?
Don't touch it.
- It's good, isn't it?
- Let's see.
Yes, that's a good mushroom.
See?
Who knows what it's called?
- Palometa.
- Flyswatter.
No, flyswatters are poisonous.
Look at them carefully.
- They're...
- "Ears"!
Very good.
You recognise them
by their brown colour
and the curly edges.
Have you ever picked
a poisonous mushroom?
- No. You know why?
- Why?
I do what my grandfather told me.
If you're not sure about
a mushroom, don't pick it.
Because if it is bad
and you pick and eat it,
it's your last mushroom,
it's the end.
- Understand?
- I do.
Grandfather wasrt crazy
about eating them.
What he liked was looking for them,
even if he had to walk all day.
He never got tired.
See that mountain?
He called it the mushroom garden.
- You know why?
- Why?
Chanterelles grow there. The best.
- Can we go?
- It's very far away.
You two couldn't walk that far.
We'll go some other day.
But first you have to promise
never to tell your mother.
Look what we have here.
A real demon.
It smells good.
When it's young, it fools you,
but when it's old...
Look at it carefully.
Look at the colour of the hood.
Look at the black gills.
Don't forget it, children.
It's the worst.
The most poisonous.
If you eat it, there's no antidote.
It kills you.
Fernando!
Goodbye.
- Hello, Don Fernando.
- Hello.
You're a little late.
- You hit me!
- I didn't!
Enough!
That's enough, already!
Stop being so boisterous.
- Dummy!
- Pig!
Good Lord!
What a ruckus!
- She started it.
- Enough!
Liar.
Come on, it's time
to get washed for school.
First you get the brush wet.
Okay.
Then you rub your face.
Then you put soap on.
Then on your face.
Okay.
Then you shave off the little hairs?
Yes, and then you
put on some cologne.
Mother, do you know what a spirit is?
You don't know and I do.
A spirit is a spirit.
Are they good or bad?
They're good with good girls,
but with bad girls they're very bad.
But you'll be good, right?
Give me a kiss.
It's coming!
Ana!
"Now, neither malice nor hatred.
"Not even the fear of change.
I only feel thirst,
"a thirst for I know not what.
"Rivers of life, where have you gone?
"Air, I need air.
"What do you see in the darkness
that makes you silently tremble?
"I have the eyes of a blind man
"who stares at the surs face.
"I will fall
where the fallen never rise."
"To... my...
dear...
misanthrope."
Come here.
What's wrong with you?
Isabel!
Come on, get up. Don't be silly.
Isabel.
He's not here anymore, he's gone.
Isabel.
Isabel.
Tell me what happened to you.
Milagros!
- Careful, you'll get burnt.
- Isabel!
Careful, Raquel.
Throw in that branch.
Throw in more. Here.
Ana.
What are you doing here?
Come with me. Let's go.
Let's go home. Your father's back.
Let's go.
Come on, let's go.
Where were you?
Ana...
Where were you?
Here.
Hello.
Come in.
- Do I have your permission?
- Have him come in.
- He's in.
- I'll be right there.
Good morning.
Ana.
Ana, come here!
Ana!
Back!
Ana.
Ana, what happened to you?
- Miguel, how is she?
- Fine.
Still a little weak.
She hardly sleeps.
She won't eat or talk.
Light bothers her.
She looks at us as
if she didn't recognise us.
It's as if we didn't exist.
Teresa...
Ana is still a very small child.
She's under the effects
of a powerful experience.
She'll get over it.
Really, Miguel?
Bit by bit,
she'll begin to forget it.
Teresa,
the important thing is
that your daughter's alive.
She's alive.
She's asleep.
Don Miguel, she's asleep.
Have her take this medicine.
Yes, sir.
I'll go right to the pharmacy.
She should eat.
Something easy to digest.
Soup without fat,
boiled eggs.
And you have to rest, Teresa.
That's important, too.
If anything happens,
have Milagros go and get me.
Yes.
Ana...
Someone to whom I recently
showed my glass beehive,
the movement of that wheel
like a clock's main wheel.
Someone who saw the constant
agitation of the panels,
the perpetual buzzing,
enigmatic and maddened,
of the drones over the nests,
the bridges and stairways
that form the cells,
the invading spiral...
If you're his friend,
you can talk to him
whenever you want.
Close your eyes
and call him.
"I'm Ana."
"I'm Ana."