OUT OF THE PAST

At the beginning of “The Spirit of the Beehive” (1973), Víctor Erice’s sublime first feature, a travelling projectionist arrives at a remote Castilian village, bearing a print of James Whale’s “Frankenstein.”

- JUSTIN CHANG

It’s 1940, not long after the end of the Spanish Civil War, and the townsfolk, eager for entertainment, are soon transfixed by this sad, haunting tale of a man-made monster—none more so than Ana (Ana Torrent), a six-year-old girl with a solemn gaze and a steadfast belief that she is witnessing something terrifyingly real. And who, having experienced Whale’s classic themselves, could argue with her? Ana’s older sister, Isabel (Isabel Tellería), does try to allay her fears: “Everything in the movies is fake.” And yet, Isabel insists, with a twinkle of mischief, there is an actual monster in the village, a mysterious spirit with whom they can communicate at will. “Close your eyes,” she whispers, “and call him.”