Evolution of Image Identity in Spanish Films

Evolution of Image Identity in Spanish Films From 1970s to Present

The Spirit of the Beehive

The movie mainly dwells around a little girl Ana who is fascinated with Frankenstein, a 1931 American horror film. Besides the movie highlights her family life and schooling and has been tagged the bewitching portrait of a child's haunted inner life (Erice, 1973). This film is portrays the effect of the Spanish civil war that disintegrated families leaving behind a divided society. This film was shot in 1973 when the regime's iron rule was diminishing and contains symbolism and subtlety depicting the Spanish community after and before the war.

From the film, disintegration of Ana's family's emotional life is a representation of Spaniards during the civil war. Additionally, the barren empty landscape around the sheepfold portrays Spain's isolation from the rest of the continent during the first years of Franco's regime. The film further highlights Fernando's disgust at the beehive's boring activity, an allusion to the Spaniards who are orderly and organized but lacking imagination during the Francoist era. Moreover, the beehive theme is incorporated in the manor house which has hexagonal panes to its leaded windows and a honey-colored light.

At the film's onset, Spanish ruling elites use the Frankenstein film to warn the citizens regarding man's godless creations whose killing ensures the public remain safe. However, this is a trick initiated to justify for the violent ousting of the Republican government during the civil war by depicting the monster as the country's godless socialism. This allegory is repeated later in the movie when the hunted republican soldier adopts a role similar to the monster in the 1931 film. By beckoning the monster's spirit to reappear, Ana is calling on the spirit of the Republic to return.

Ana is a representation of Spain's innocent young generation born around 1940, while her sister's Isabel deceitful advice stands for the power and money hungry Nationalists. As the film ends, there is warmth in Teresa's feelings and the possibility of awakening of the family's emotional life and by implication the former Spanish life.

Solas

Solas highlights the prevalent conflict between tradition and modernity in contemporary Spanish society by discussing issues regarding gender, regional, and class identity. In the film, the major theme outlined is the constant gender inequality and outdated principles of female restraint in post-Franco Spain.

Maria's mother is wary of her daughter when she enters a bar to obtain a phone number; Rosa fears accompanying her since the bar is filled with men, a decision Maria corrects by telling her they are not in the village. This symbolizes the age and cultural difference between Rosa, who was raised in the old ways and Maria, who has incorporated the freedom offered by urban lifestyles. In addition, Rosa's shyness is an indicator of personality and education differences between her and Maria and women's limited social mobility.

Maria's residence is dark and lonely compared to Rosa's whose lobby is lively with staircases outside, decorated with pleasant blue-white tiles. Moreover, Rosa is depicted as lonely, sad and contemplative in her kitchen dotted with peeling ceilings, dirty walls, and windowless bedroom (Zambrano, 1998). The interior setting of her house is a representation of her physical and spiritual collapse; this is a sign of her past alcohol sessions and self-destructive behavior.

As depicted by the director in the film, motherhood is a source of strength and liberation. Thus, this proves to be Maria's only means out of her constant cycle of self-destruction. Moreover, the baby's delivery helps Maria recover her self-esteem and attain inner peace. On the other hand, men are representations of chauvinism in the society oppressing women while making them submissive. As an example, Maria's father is depicted as both verbally abusive and sexually possessive of his wife.

The Holy Innocents

Mario Camus' The Holy Innocents highlights inhumanity and corruption of privilege, class stratification, as well as marginalization in Francoist Spain. In this regard, the film portrays the political connection between Franco's fascism, the Church, and land barons in Spain's countryside in the 1960s. The film revolves around two individuals, Paco and Regula who are poor married peasants working for Pedro, an owner of a large rural estate. These peasants' problems are real as opposed to Pedro whose problems emanate from arrogance and laziness.