Miscellaneous Movie Musings

mousepod · 01-10-2007, 11:21 PM

Having been so moved by Pan's Labyrinth, I finally watched The Spirit of the Beehive tonight. While there are elements that clearly influenced del Toro, this film is an entirely different, but no less haunting, monster. Slow and languorous, but beautiful and dreamy, The Spirit of the Beehive tells the story of a little girl in post-war Spain.

If anyone here has seen this movie, I'd love to talk about it. I'm not going to bother with spoilers - I went into it blind, so I'll just give it an enigmatic "thumbs-up", though I should warn iSm that it's in Spanish with subtitles. Also, it's an early-1970s "arthouse" flick, so don't expect a wham-bam narrative line that is de rigueur nowadays.

innerSpaceman · 01-10-2007, 11:42 PM

I'm so glad we hadn't seen the last of Peter O'Toole with his brief role in Troy that looked to be his swan song. He seemed so old, I didn't imagine he'd be doing much more acting. (Heck, I remember him already playing a washed-up old man way back in 1982's My Favorite Year ... which would have been his Swann song, heheh.)

But he's back on the screen in a film called Venus, and it's an utterly charming piece that I highly recommend. Of course, it would probably be worthwhile to see Peter O'Toole read a selection of menus, but this quirky tale of a (very) old gentleman's unlikely friendship with a brash young Brit (the daughter of his best friend's niece) is a good deal better ... and would be a fitting capper to O'Toole's stellar career - - if he weren't already working on a handful of other projects in various stages of production.

Be that as it may ... Venus is a gem. See it if you can.

(no subtitles!)

Not Afraid · 01-11-2007, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

I'm so glad we hadn't seen the last of Peter O'Toole with his brief role in Troy that looked to be his swan song. He seemed so old, I didn't imagine he'd be doing much more acting. (Heck, I remember him already playing a washed-up old man way back in 1982's My Favorite Year ... which would have been his Swann song, heheh.)

But he's back on the screen in a film called Venus, and it's an utterly charming piece that I highly recommend. Of course, it would probably be worthwhile to see Peter O'Toole read a selection of menus, but this quirky tale of a (very) old gentleman's unlikely friendship with a brash young Brit (the daughter of his best friend's niece) is a good deal better ... and would be a fitting capper to O'Toole's stellar career - - if he weren't already working on a handful of other projects in various stages of production.

Be that as it may ... Venus is a gem. See it if you can.

(no subtitles!)

It is on my list - if it ever plays in more than one Santa Monica theater.

Strangler Lewis · 01-11-2007, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

(Heck, I remember him already playing a washed-up old man way back in 1982's My Favorite Year

A few years before, he played a truly washed up old man in "Caligula."

01-10-2007, 11:21 PM	#1
mousepod You broke your Ramadar! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,635	Having been so moved by Pan's Labyrinth, I finally watched The Spirit of the Beehive tonight. While there are elements that clearly influenced del Toro, this film is an entirely different, but no less haunting, monster. Slow and languorous, but beautiful and dreamy, The Spirit of the Beehive tells the story of a little girl in post-war Spain. If anyone here has seen this movie, I'd love to talk about it. I'm not going to bother with spoilers - I went into it blind, so I'll just give it an enigmatic "thumbs-up", though I should warn iSm that it's in Spanish with subtitles. Also, it's an early-1970s "arthouse" flick, so don't expect a wham-bam narrative line that is de rigueur nowadays. __________________ "Give the public everything you can give them, keep the place as clean as you can keep it, keep it friendly" - Walt Disney
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01-10-2007, 11:42 PM	#2
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	I'm so glad we hadn't seen the last of Peter O'Toole with his brief role in Troy that looked to be his swan song. He seemed so old, I didn't imagine he'd be doing much more acting. (Heck, I remember him already playing a washed-up old man way back in 1982's My Favorite Year ... which would have been his Swann song, heheh.) But he's back on the screen in a film called Venus, and it's an utterly charming piece that I highly recommend. Of course, it would probably be worthwhile to see Peter O'Toole read a selection of menus, but this quirky tale of a (very) old gentleman's unlikely friendship with a brash young Brit (the daughter of his best friend's niece) is a good deal better ... and would be a fitting capper to O'Toole's stellar career - - if he weren't already working on a handful of other projects in various stages of production. Be that as it may ... Venus is a gem. See it if you can. (no subtitles!)
	Submit to Quotes