A film of near indescribable weight and richness, The Spirit of the Beehive is the latest essential DVD release from The Criterion Collection. The narrative is deceptively simple: in a small provincial Spanish village in the 1940s, a traveling cinema leaves a small child haunted by the memory of Frankenstein’s monster. While engrossing and endearing as an ode to the power of youthful imagination, it’s also a complex political allegory about life under Franco’s regime. The film’s stunning aesthetics are unparalleled and the new hi-def transfer on this set really lets Luis Cuadrado’s cinematography shine. It's worthwhile purchase if only to show off the dynamic colors on your 16:9 set. Pick it up at Amazon.

by Michael Talbott