The Spirit of the Beehive

In 1940, Ana, a shy six-year-old, lives with her father Fernando, mother Teresa, and older sister Isabel in an isolated Castilian manor. The postwar mood makes the village tense and insular, shaping her sheltered world. Her bond with Isabel is loving but playful, often testing Ana's gullibility.

A traveling cinema rolls into the village and screens Frankenstein. Ana is deeply moved by the monster's gentleness and the tragedy that follows the little girl. The film sparks questions she cannot easily answer about life, death, and what is real.

Isabel tries to calm her by insisting that films are fake and that the monster is like a harmless spirit she can talk to if she closes her eyes. She tells Ana the monster did not kill the girl and that the danger is all fiction. This explanation blurs the line between cinema and reality for Ana.

Isabel takes Ana to a desolate sheepfold, claiming it is the monster's house. Ana returns alone several times, drawn by the idea of a place where the spirits dwell. The sheepfold becomes the tangible site of her growing fantasy.

On one of her solo visits, Ana discovers a wounded Republican soldier hiding in the sheepfold. Rather than fear him, she feeds him and brings him her father's coat and watch. Her tenderness deepens the strange mix of innocence and danger in her imagination.

That night, Francoist police arrive, find the fugitive, and shoot him. The authorities begin to suspect the family may have aided him, turning neighborly suspicion toward them. The incident threads together fear, rumor, and the fragile trust within the village.

Following the uproar, the father realizes which daughter helped the fugitive by noticing Ana's anxious reaction when the pocket watch is produced. He confronts the children with the truth, revealing the hidden secret. The family cannot escape the consequences of their actions and the fragility of their bond.

Ana returns to the sheepfold to check on the fallen man, only to find him gone and blood stains on the ground. The disappearance shatters the fragile fantasy she has built around the monster and its world. The line between her belief and reality tightens around her.

In the wake of the unfolding danger, the family and villagers scour the countryside through the night. Ana's absence mirrors a scene from Frankenstein, heightening the sense of fear and guilt in the community. The search underscores the danger posed by the fugitive and the risk of lingering secrets.

Near a lake, Ana kneels in the dark as the forest seems to close in. Frankenstein's monster emerges from the trees and kneels beside her, mirroring a scene from the film. The moment binds her to the creature, blurring fantasy and fear into a shared stillness.

The village doctor suggests Ana's experience will gradually fade as trauma, but she withdraws instead of returning to normal life. She stands by the window in silence, calling to the spirit Isabel spoke of. The healing process fractures into a stubborn loneliness that feels almost chosen.

Despite medical assurances, Ana continues to withdraw from her family, preferring solitude and the ritual of calling to the spirit she learned from Isabel. The story ends with her future shaped more by imagination than by those around her. The line between reality and fantasy remains deeply blurred.