El espíritu de la colmena (1973)

The Spirit of the Beehive poster

English Title: The Spirit of the Beehive
Bocaccio Distribución S.A.
Starring:
 Ana Torrent, Isabel Tellería, Fernando Fernán Gómez
Directed by: Víctor Erice

Cat Out of the Bag Alert!  This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: A quiet but haunting tale about two sisters living in a small Spanish village who see the film Frankenstein, causing the younger sister Ana (Ana Torrent) to seek the Frankenstein monster.

Kitty Cameo: Halfway through the film a black cat is seen living in the home with the two sisters, Ana and Isabel (Isabel Telleria).

The Spirit of the Beehive - black cat closeup

A short time later the cat enters the girls’ bedroom where Isabel is lying on her bed.

The Spirit of the Beehive - black cat enters room

Isabel calls to the cat and then pulls it up onto the bed with her.

The Spirit of the Beehive - Isabel with black cat on her lap

She begins petting the cat and listening to it purr.

The Spirit of the Beehive - Isabel listens to black cat purring

Kitty Carnage Warning! For some reason (undoubtedly symbolism which would be too complicated to delve into here) Isabel wraps her hands around the cat’s throat and starts to choke it.

The Spirit of the Beehive - black cat being strangled by little girl Isabel

Eventually the poor cat fights back and manages to free itself, giving Isabel a good scratch in the process.

The Spirit of the Beehive - black cat pulls away from Isabel strangling

Final Mewsings: Little girls who strangle cats deserve worse than just a scratch!


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