We discussed briefly at the opening of Thursday's class that like their European counterparts, Spanish filmmakers were concerned with developing a cinematic language that would define them from a national perspective. Spanish cinema was a flag that needed to be unfurled , said José María García Escudero, general director of cinema in the 1960s. The combination of narrative melodrama and neorealism that we saw in Death of a cyclist and also, with its culturally significant grotesque (esperpento) twists, in Viridiana, was a unique and valuable aesthetic achievement that set Spanish film apart from other European cinemas. The French had achieved great financial success with their attempt at a unique cinematic voice, a movement called la nouvelle vague that broke the narrative conventions of Hollywood by developing a kind of introspective, philosophical style that gained acceptance throughout Europe and was labeled “intelligent cinema." In Franco´s Spain we heard of the "Franco aesthetic," that style that resulted from filmmakers´ attempts at creating narrative voids in the story for the audience to complete with what might be political ideas that challenged the Francoist establishment.
Victor Erice’s El espíritu de la colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive, 1973) and Carlos Saura’s Cría Cuervos (Raise Ravens/Cría!, 1976) show the evolution of a cinematic language that continued to stage the struggle between tradition and change that characterized Spanish cultural discourse. Now, however, the imminent death of General Franco also offered the opportunity for a narrative shift.
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| Don José needs eyes to see... |
In The Spirit of the Beehive, the narrative parallels the plot of the 1931 film Frankenstein, but takes a few twists. There is a clear attempt on the part of the filmmaker to create direct relationships between the scene of the murder of the little girl, and the awakening of Ana´s conscience. “Why did he kill her?”, “Why did they kill him?,” Ana asks her sister Isabel. “You don´t know,” “I´ll tell you later.” “Why not?” “I don´t want to.” It seems that Isabel is avoiding the question, perhaps because she doesn´t know the answer. In her questioning, we also sense that Ana doesn´t have a sense of an “eye for an eye” justice: she asks why did the people kill the monster? The answer is, because he had killed the girl, but no one gives her that answer. There is a suggestion that the child has an inherent sense of values, one that is guided by her innocence, and therefore seems uncontestable. Erice seems to reiterate this to us, that is why Ana places the eyes to Don José, the cardboard figure that the teacher uses as a prop. People need eyes to see.
Ana is at the end of that moment of innocence. Her sister has just passed it: she almost strangles the cat, then, uses her own blood, in the most primitive of gestures, to paint her lips, a gesture that seems to bring her into the adult world.
Who is Don Fernando? What does he do? What is his relationship to Frankenstein? Is he a Dr. Frankenstein to the girls? If so, that would make them his monsters. He tells the story of a friend who saw his glass beehive and observed how the bees had constructed separate compartments, the genetically-determined role each of them plays in the perfect functioning of the hive, the way they communicate to maximize their efficiency. And the friend said something about a world where there were no graves or anyone to speak about the dead, and looked away sadly. Don Fernando´s narrative is repeated twice, at the time he writes it, and towards the end of the film, while searching for Ana. This can be read as a key reference to the struggle between the traditional and the modern. Don Fernando is saying that tradition, which is also represented here by the baroque image of St. Mark, with its memento moris, (the skull in the painting of the evangelist, which in the late renaissance was incorporated to many paintings as a reminder of the mortality of men), that adorns his office. Awareness of death, perhaps a sense of history are what differentiates humans from the bees. Don Fernando embodies another fundamental element of the traditional Spain, that of the Hidalgo, the “hijo de algo,” “son of something,” a character who, even though he might not be in good economic position, relies on his ancestral standing in the community to maintain his status, a position we had brought up in relation to the characters in Death of a Cyclist. Thus, the family lives in a very old country manor, we would believe his ancestral home. Don Fernando´s authority is reiterated through the way he is addressed by others in the village and by his very faithful dog. And so well does Don Fernando represent this status of being something, that we don´t really know if the stark furniture that adorns his home is the result of financial difficulties, or if it is a sign of the Catholic stoicism that a true Castilian gentleman lives by.
It seems that Ana runs away because Don Fernando finds out that she was the one who had given his coat to the guerrilla. And Ana finds out the guerrilla is dead because she went into the hut and found the blood. Then she walks out, and runs into her father. Is Ana associating her father to the death of the guerrilla? Is this a political allusion that links the traditional aristocracy to the end of the dream of the republic?
And what is Don Fernando in the other symbolic story that drives the narrative, the story of Frankenstein? Is he Dr. Frankenstein, father of the monster? In that case, his children are the monsters… what have they learned? Are they learning what they need to know? He teaches them about mushrooms… is there a symbolic meaning to that? There must be, it takes up quite some time in the movie, and don Fernando´s foot stomping the poisonous mushroom offers a violent accent to an otherwise tame, quite pace… Is Don Fernando an angry man? Could he have turned in the guerrilla to the Guardia Civil? Could it have something to do with the letter that his wife was writing? Why does she burn it? As it burns, we see it is addressed to someone in a Red Cross Camp in France… As the fire consumes it, so it consumes the stamp, which has an effigy of Franco. The letter would have been for someone who left Spain after the war as a refugee… the person to whom Teresa writes an anguished letter at the beginning of the film? Is he a lover? Perhaps Ana´s father (he has dark hair like Ana, and unlike everyone else in the family)? Is he the same character his sister has seen? If he is, why does he arrive by train? Where has he been? How would Don Fernando´s wife know that he is there? The relationship between Don Fernando and his wife is not most cordial. They don´t talk. When he comes to bed in the morning she pretends to be asleep (although she tucks him in and takes off his glasses at the end of the film). Does she not send the letter because she has seen him? Or because she knows he is dead? Did he come into Spain just to see her? Does she know he is dead? Did Don Fernando, knowing he would be there, notify the Guardia Civil, and has not told his wife he is dead?
It seems that Ana runs away because Don Fernando finds out that she was the one who had given his coat to the guerrilla. And Ana finds out the guerrilla is dead because she went into the hut and found the blood. Then she walks out, and runs into her father. Is Ana associating her father to the death of the guerrilla? Is this a political allusion that links the traditional aristocracy to the end of the dream of the republic?
And what is Don Fernando in the other symbolic story that drives the narrative, the story of Frankenstein? Is he Dr. Frankenstein, father of the monster? In that case, his children are the monsters… what have they learned? Are they learning what they need to know? He teaches them about mushrooms… is there a symbolic meaning to that? There must be, it takes up quite some time in the movie, and don Fernando´s foot stomping the poisonous mushroom offers a violent accent to an otherwise tame, quite pace… Is Don Fernando an angry man? Could he have turned in the guerrilla to the Guardia Civil? Could it have something to do with the letter that his wife was writing? Why does she burn it? As it burns, we see it is addressed to someone in a Red Cross Camp in France… As the fire consumes it, so it consumes the stamp, which has an effigy of Franco. The letter would have been for someone who left Spain after the war as a refugee… the person to whom Teresa writes an anguished letter at the beginning of the film? Is he a lover? Perhaps Ana´s father (he has dark hair like Ana, and unlike everyone else in the family)? Is he the same character his sister has seen? If he is, why does he arrive by train? Where has he been? How would Don Fernando´s wife know that he is there? The relationship between Don Fernando and his wife is not most cordial. They don´t talk. When he comes to bed in the morning she pretends to be asleep (although she tucks him in and takes off his glasses at the end of the film). Does she not send the letter because she has seen him? Or because she knows he is dead? Did he come into Spain just to see her? Does she know he is dead? Did Don Fernando, knowing he would be there, notify the Guardia Civil, and has not told his wife he is dead?
The Ana in The Spirit... represents the child as an empty vessel, and by the end of the film it will be filled with the principles that guide the rest of her life. And what does Ana´s encounter with the monster represent? Is it an awakening? If so, to what? What political allegory can we derive from this? It is interesting that The Spirit... uses Hollywood popular cinema –horror films are considered a minor genre in some academic circles-- as the basis for the exploration of the story. This suggests that Erice, who is clearly preoccupied with creating a unique filmic language—as proven by the meticulously unconventional cinematography— is acknowledging a debt to Hollywood in his craft. There is also a debt to neorealsim in the quasi-anthropological representation of the village, and finally, some of the faces, and the image of the bugle-blowing woman who announces the film are a clear homage to the tradition of the grotesque celebrated by Buñuel.
In the end, what is perpetuated in the film, through the image of the burning letter that represents the impossibility of the idealized nation proposed by the republic, is the cordial family meal around the kitchen table, an echo of the traditional patriarchal structure… (and they lived happily ever after, we could say, since the story is introduced as a fairytale). Perhaps what subverts this apparently reactionary narrative is the use of the popular children´s song “Vamos a contar mentiras”, “Let´s tell lies”, which becomes then another twist that lets the viewer know it is watching an inverted narrative…
In the end, what is perpetuated in the film, through the image of the burning letter that represents the impossibility of the idealized nation proposed by the republic, is the cordial family meal around the kitchen table, an echo of the traditional patriarchal structure… (and they lived happily ever after, we could say, since the story is introduced as a fairytale). Perhaps what subverts this apparently reactionary narrative is the use of the popular children´s song “Vamos a contar mentiras”, “Let´s tell lies”, which becomes then another twist that lets the viewer know it is watching an inverted narrative…
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Ana and her mother in Cría Cuervos
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The two films have been inscribed into a tradition of Spanish filmmaking that challenges “the Oedipal Narrative”, the classical parricidal tale of individuation. “Freud and his poststructuralist followers argue that the Oedipal drama is reenacted in every generation because it is the primary means of transforming the small animal into a human gendered subject, that is, one who accepts either the male or female role and everything that goes with that sexual identity, including heterosexual tastes, which are essential to the reproduction of the species and the nuclear family.” (Kinder 197). Kinder studies at some length how the plot of many modern Spanish films reenact different aspects of the Oedipal narrative in order to reinforce the values promoted by the state. But oftentimes, Kinder argues, thanks to its ideological function, the Oedipal narrative can be used by filmmakers not to reinforce, but to subvert the logic of the state. This, we could say, is what Erice and Saura do in these stories.
That is also the case in Saura´s Cría Cuervos. Perhaps because we are associating her with the other Ana we just watched, we want to see this new Ana as innocent and pure. But Carlos Saura thinks more like Buñuel, and doesn´t believe in innocence or children. The title of the film is the first clue as to the demon hidden behind the innocence of the children. “Cria cuervos” is part of a popular saying: “Cria cuervos y te quitarán los ojos” (Raise ravens and they´ll peck your eyes out). Whereas in The spirit… the coming in contact with the world is a traumatic experience that leaves the child in shock, in Saura's movie the children seem to be picking up on the adults’ behavior but their untreated trauma (no one believes poor Ana when she tells dad was with another woman) becomes dysfunctional behavior. To complicate matters more, Saura reveals that Ana’s childhood is being filtered through the memory of Ana the adult, the woman who is also played by Geraldine Chaplin but who has a different voice, and who becomes the film’s narrator in certain scenes. Is Ana the adult remembering her mother’s face as her own because of her own psychological problems? Or is Saura telling us that children become their parents? But Ana’s mother was an inspiration to her… she had wanted to be a pianist, but ended up married with children, then bitterly unhappy. Ana witnessed this, the same way she witnessed so many other things in the house (no women have been happy: Rosa lost a child, grandmother doesn't seem to have enjoyed her life, and now cannot even talk about it. She is a prisoner in the house, in her own brain.)
What we see as the film progresses is that, whether by the influence of what she has heard and seen, even without understanding, as she confesses when Rosa is telling her the story of the girl who got pregnant, or because we are in the memories of the woman who is narrating the story, is that Ana slowly shows she is lost to any moral cause. We can see the short time Ana has to be saved by contrasting her behavior with that of her older sister Irene. When the girls are putting on make up, Irene is applying it quickly and discreetly, while Ana simply slaps some lipstick on. Ana’s trauma slowly takes over her personality. There is a moment when she begins to sing the bubbly rock song she has played over and over, and to dance while she plays with her hair, staring directly at the camera. The story becomes a cautionary tale that in a simplistic political reading might suggest only that we need to teach our children well and behave morally. But there is another warning: although the nasty male authority figure is dead now, we can’t just be taken over by rock and roll.
That is also the case in Saura´s Cría Cuervos. Perhaps because we are associating her with the other Ana we just watched, we want to see this new Ana as innocent and pure. But Carlos Saura thinks more like Buñuel, and doesn´t believe in innocence or children. The title of the film is the first clue as to the demon hidden behind the innocence of the children. “Cria cuervos” is part of a popular saying: “Cria cuervos y te quitarán los ojos” (Raise ravens and they´ll peck your eyes out). Whereas in The spirit… the coming in contact with the world is a traumatic experience that leaves the child in shock, in Saura's movie the children seem to be picking up on the adults’ behavior but their untreated trauma (no one believes poor Ana when she tells dad was with another woman) becomes dysfunctional behavior. To complicate matters more, Saura reveals that Ana’s childhood is being filtered through the memory of Ana the adult, the woman who is also played by Geraldine Chaplin but who has a different voice, and who becomes the film’s narrator in certain scenes. Is Ana the adult remembering her mother’s face as her own because of her own psychological problems? Or is Saura telling us that children become their parents? But Ana’s mother was an inspiration to her… she had wanted to be a pianist, but ended up married with children, then bitterly unhappy. Ana witnessed this, the same way she witnessed so many other things in the house (no women have been happy: Rosa lost a child, grandmother doesn't seem to have enjoyed her life, and now cannot even talk about it. She is a prisoner in the house, in her own brain.)
What we see as the film progresses is that, whether by the influence of what she has heard and seen, even without understanding, as she confesses when Rosa is telling her the story of the girl who got pregnant, or because we are in the memories of the woman who is narrating the story, is that Ana slowly shows she is lost to any moral cause. We can see the short time Ana has to be saved by contrasting her behavior with that of her older sister Irene. When the girls are putting on make up, Irene is applying it quickly and discreetly, while Ana simply slaps some lipstick on. Ana’s trauma slowly takes over her personality. There is a moment when she begins to sing the bubbly rock song she has played over and over, and to dance while she plays with her hair, staring directly at the camera. The story becomes a cautionary tale that in a simplistic political reading might suggest only that we need to teach our children well and behave morally. But there is another warning: although the nasty male authority figure is dead now, we can’t just be taken over by rock and roll.
You can read more about the film Cría cuervos in the article on the Criterion edition:
https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/527-cria-cuervos-the-past-is-not-past
https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/527-cria-cuervos-the-past-is-not-past
Within Cria Cuervos, Carlos Saura approaches many different topics. Among these topics is the theme of female gender roles. Throughout the film, the majority of women are under some type of oppression or bad situation caused by these military men. This clearly reflects the oppression felt by people during the Spanish Civil War and the tensions that still remained after. This can be seen in Maria, Paulina, and Rosa’s lives. Maria is in such pain and presumably a depression that seems to be caused by her husband, Anselmo, who is in the military. In Ana’s memory of one of their fights, she sees her mother throwing herself at her husband asking for him to talk to her and love her. After her brushes her off, she responds by claiming that she is very ill and then she wishes for her own death. Moreover, Paulina was in a bad situation with Anselmo as well. In a memory with Anselmo, Paulina places herself in a sensual position with him and Maria and Ana walk in. This creates tension within the household and shows the power of Anselmo. He acts as this controlling and oppressive force to both these women, Maria and Paulina. In addition, her Aunt Paulina finds herself in a similar situation with Nicolas, another military man. Although, he accepts her and professes his love for her, unlike Maria, Paulina is still in a losing situation. This is because he is already married. As of now, they don’t seem to think this is a big deal but this situation alludes to a future catastrophe. In all these situations, we see this obvious trouble and disaster caused by these military men. They cause tension within their households and cause future tensions. This happens not only with Paulina and Anselmo and their impeding calamity but it is clearly seen in Ana’s life. She obviously has trouble with men in general and a lot of her problems and struggles are caused by this. This allegorizes the then present and future tensions that would be caused by the Spanish Civil War.
ReplyDeleteParece que un tema constante dentro de las obras sobre la edad de Franco en España es la exploración de soledad y de isolacion. Había dos aspectos a este enfoca: isolacion dentro del país de España y isolacion del resto del mundo. La pelicula "El espiritu de la colmena" no es una excepción a esta regla. Pero el director Víctor Erice exploró temas aún más profundidad con su obra. Dentro del film, y con la usa de simbolismo, él pregunta cuestiones implícitas sobre la definición de la vida, y cómo el franquismo interfiere con vivir una vida llena. Aunque nada se dice explícitamente, Erice crea un mundo en el que somos capaces de ver el perjudicial efecto emocional de la guerra civil y el imperio de Franco en la psique de la gente de España - y no es una imagen bonita.
ReplyDeleteErice utiliza un gran número de dispositivos para ilustrar este realidad triste para nosotros. La comparación más obvia de la obra es la conexión entre el país de España y la colmena de Fernando. La pelicula nos dice que Fernando cree que la colmena es un centro de actividad, donde las abejas trabajan y hacen una vida, pero es un área sin compasión, sin empatía, y sin entendimiento. Después de este evaluacion, nosotros empezamos ver cómo el ambiente de los personajes es similar a la colmena. Se nos da una pista mediante el uso de ventanas hexagonales dentro de la casa que emiten luz amarilla, que indica que Fernando y su familia están viviendo una vida que es comparable a la vacía vida de las abejas. Es una vida en que cada personaje usa su tiempo para tratar escapar sus realidades. Una indicación de la soledad que siente cada miembro de la familia es el hecho que la niña Ana trata encontrar el compañerismo desde un hombre muerto e imaginario - Frankenstein. A menudo, nosotros vemos las personajes en isolacion, algunas veces ellos están mirando a través de un campo vacío. Además, el uso de los ángulos de la cámara nos hacen sentir como si cada uno de los miembros de la familia están solos, incluso cuando están juntos. El aspecto más importante de la película es no lo que vemos, sino cómo nos hace sentir. Somos deprimidos, que desean para alguna pequeña esperanza dentro de la deprimente realidad del franquismo.
Scott Weaver
El director, Víctor Erice, escribió “El espíritu de la colmena” en una forma original. Esta obra logra entrar en la mente y consciencia de la audiencia con delicadez. El comienzo del relato, transporta a la audiencia a un lugar real pero en forma de contar un cuento. Es interesante ver la reacción de los niños cuando saben que el camión trae una nueva película al pueblo. Hay mucha emoción por algo tan simple. La curiosidad de los niños establece el tono del resto de la historia. El drama nos muestra a Ana e Isabel intrigadas por el monstro en la película de Frankenstein, donde el monstro tira al agua a una niña que termina ahogándose. Ambas son impactadas por lo que sus “ojos percibieron” pero, Ana, siendo más tierna de edad, comienza a hacer preguntas acerca del monstro. Isabel siendo la hermana mayor, le explica que las películas no son reales y que el monstro solo existe en espíritu. También le dice a Ana que solo tiene que “identificarse” para poder hablar con el espíritu. Después, Isabel, lleva a Ana a un espacio retirado de su casa, a una granja desolada donde supuestamente vive el espíritu. Ana también le impresiono en la escuela el muñeco de anotomía, le faltaban los “ojos” y Ana se los puso para hacerlo un “ser” o “identidad” completa.
ReplyDeletePor otro lado, el padre de las niñas esta intrigado por las habilidades extraordinarias de las abejas que laboran al ritmo mecánico de un reloj. Admira las colmenas y las “observa” detalladamente. El padre tiene envidia del mundo tan ordenado de las abejas, “no permite enfermedad ni muerte.” Es un mundo casi perfecto, pero, para “ver” en profundidad esa perfección, Fernando expone a las abejas a través de un vidrio transparente.
A pesar de que la obra esta superdotada de una fuente fuerte de adivinanzas y enigmas, el acertijo más importante, es el de la “visión.” El director, Víctor Erice, publicó esta obra cuando Franco aún estaba en vida. Tal vez, presentía que Franco moriría y sabía que a España le faltaba “identificarse a través de una nueva visión” sin Franco. Víctor Erice quería poner en alerta a España, pero sabía que no podía dar tal aviso y poder preparar a España, de forma directa. Es genial de parte del escritor, crear una obra que le habla a España, pero despista la censura de Franco. En primer lugar, Víctor Erice, se asegura de poner un descargo de responsabilidad ante los ojos de censura cuando Isabel le dice a Ana, que las películas “no son reales.” El mensaje a España, es totalmente diferente, porque, durante las escenas donde Ana le pone los ojos a Don José, Víctor Erice, crea un ambiente de sugestión. A “España” le hacen falta ojos para tener una nueva percepción y lograr identificarse. La película causa que Ana “refleje y haga preguntas.” Isabel le dice a Ana que el “monstro Frankenstein es un espíritu.” Esta es otra sugestión, de que la audiencia refleje y haga preguntas. También avisa que “Franco-stein” pronto solo será un espíritu o que morirá. Por lo pronto, España debe prepararse con una nueva visión y espíritu nacional. La sugestión es la probabilidad de “El espíritu de la colmena.” Es por eso que, Víctor Erice, pone a las abejas en un mundo transparente para hacer su sugerencia más clara. Los españoles ya conocen la dictadura pero la sugerencia es la posibilidad de adaptar el espíritu de las abejas que trabajan colectivamente para y por una sola visión. La sugerencia es que no hace falta la reina de las abejas (Franco) para poder adaptar una nueva visión y espíritu. En la escena donde Ana se encuentra con el monstro, es simbólico a la España tierna en su nueva visión, pero fuerte para enfrentarse a su monstro. Después del enfrentamiento con su monstro, al final de la obra, Ana se identifica con su nombre, llamando al espíritu, pero ya no el de “Franco-stein” si no al “Espíritu de la colmena.” Víctor Erice utiliza la delicadez del personaje de Ana, para ponerle “ojos a España” a través de la pantalla de cine.
1975, año en el que se produjo la película, fue un año decisivo en la historia de España, porque se produjo la muerte de Francisco Franco. Hecho que abrió un período denso de acontecimientos que desembocó en el derrumbamiento del imperio franquista y asentó las bases para el proceso de transición política hacia la “democracia”. La película fue rodada meses antes de la muerte de Franco en un momento, según declaraciones del propio Saura, en el que se estaba viviendo un proceso de destrucción del que surgiría algo nuevo. Ese telón de fondo es el que impregna Cría cuervos, película que, como hemos dicho, sin realizar alusiones a la realidad política del momento transmite un clima de descomposición y muerte comparable a la realidad, lo que la convierte en agente y testigo de su tiempo. En el contexto de esos días resulta muy significativo el argumento de la película: el futuro de una niña cuyo padre moría de forma repentina tras haber arruinado la vida de su madre y la de su familia, con la figura de un padre militar adúltero.
ReplyDelete“Cría cuervos” es una obra lírica y misteriosa que necesita de espectadores curiosos, capaces de entender y de descifrar los distintos símbolos de la película. La gran mirada de la pequeña Anna Torrent, al igual que en “El espíritu de la colmena”, preside esta pieza de cámara, la crónica de un verano de absoluta reclusión en la que los juegos de los pequeños parecen ser reflejos de los problemas de los mayores. Por momentos Saura parece filmar un Lorca con una vista terrorífica, y al final trasciende sus personajes y su difuso espacio y tiempo narrativo para alertar del peligro latente de una España que esconde los trapos sucios de sus ancestros bajo la alfombra y bajo llave, en un silencio sepulcral, sin posibilidad de cicatrizar la herida o de llegar a un entendimiento entre semejantes.
'Cría cuervos...' es una historia de padres y de hijos que mantienen unas relaciones muy estrechas a la par que distantes. Lazos que el espectador va conociendo poco a poco, consciente de que nunca podrá acceder a la verdad de los personajes: 'Cría cuervos...' es casi una película a la inversa, con ausencia de trama, o con una trama reconstruida entre el realismo y el surrealismo. Cine atmosférico que cada uno interpretará desde distintos prismas (políticos, sociales, críticos, etc.). Para completar el refrán del título, y para entender verdaderamente el significado del mismo, hay que visionar la película un par de veces y ponerse en contexto: solo de ese modo el final a ritmo del 'Por qué te vas' de Jeanette sabe a fin y a comienzo, a liberación y a interrogante, a estampa de infancia y a paso a la edad adulta.
En fin es el relato sobre la generación de los años 60-70 que heredó el dolor de quienes les antecedieron, aquellos que pasaron por la Guerra Civil española y por la dictadura Franquista, pero que entró en contacto con un paisaje urbano, el latir de una ciudad con carteles publicitarios, pintadas y espacios abiertos. Sea como sea, desde el plano intelectual o meramente sensorial, 'Cría cuervos...' es una película grandiosa, una de las grandes obras de la historia del cine español e incluso la mejor metáfora sobre la España a caballo entre la Posguerra y la Transición.
(PRIMER PARTE)
ReplyDeleteCría Cuervos (1975) del director, Carlos Saura, del mismo año que murió Franco. El drama toca varios temas profundos; recuerdos y traumas, la muerte y la perspectiva o percepción y, la fantasía infantil. También pone en vista la desigualdad del género femenino. Es importante notar que todo se relaciona a la condición social de España y el efecto del franquismo.
El padre de Ana, Anselmo, representa a Franco, en esta familia encerrada en los confines de una casa. La madre de Ana, María, representa a España bajo el dominio de Franco. La tía de Ana, Paulina, representa una nueva España, con nuevas ideas, muy difícil de aceptar. Ana y sus hermanas, representan la generación que es producto del franquismo pero que tendrá que desarrollarse sin Franco y sin la España que se imaginan antes que Franco la dominara. El dolor y muerte de la madre, María (España), es atribuido a Anselmo (Franco) por crueldad a María a través de sus infidelidades, falta de amor, incomprensión, soledad y, dictadura. María muere poco a poco de un dolor emocional y físico, muy simbólico al sufrimiento de España bajo la mano dura de Franco. Mientras, Anselmo, se mueve libremente haciendo lo que quiere, disfrutando de las vanidades de la vida, sin tomar cuidado de sus “crías.” La interrupción dramática de la pérdida de su madre quien le daba ternura, le rompe el mundo de alegría y fantasía a Ana. Todo esto en conjunto provoca en Ana, un resentimiento hacia su padre, y trauma mental, que causa el deseo de muerte para Anselmo (Franco). Tan fuerte es el desdén a la autoridad de su padre que en perspectiva de Ana, ella lo elimina con el “veneno” o bicarbonato agregándoselo a un vaso de leche. El padre muere, no por el bicarbonato, si no por su misma vanidad, perversidad e inmoralidad.
Para Ana, fue una especie de libertad, pero el vacío de no tener a su madre continuaba. Su mundo de fantasía intentaba ocupar ese espacio. Ana acudía a sus recuerdos de una vida con su madre. La idea de tener a su tía Paulina como reemplazo, no era algo que se esperaba. (SEGUNDA PARTE CONTINUA)
(SEGUNDA PARTE)
ReplyDeletePaulina, entra en sus vidas con reglas y disciplina. Estos elementos simbolizan a una nueva España sin Franco y más progresiva que la España antes de Franco y durante Franco. Las niñas resisten las nuevas reglas pero cooperan. Ana desafía esas nuevas ideas de Paulina y, se le hace difícil aceptar que “la hermana” de su madre pueda darle cariño y comprensión. El trauma mental aun no le permite percibir la “bondad y sacrificio” de su tía que ha aceptado “protegerlas” bajo el poder de “tutora” no dictadora. Ana, representa a la generación sin Franco que no tiene identidad y vive en los “recuerdos” de los padres y abuelos. La muerte se convierte en una obsesión de liberación de dolor. Básicamente, Ana, no tiene esperanza para el futuro. Ella también desea morir. Este tema también se liga a la manera que el género femenino vivía en la sociedad española. La funsión de las mujeres era casarse, tener hijos, dedicarse al hogar, dejar atrás o sacrificar sus talentos personales para servir al hombre. En el caso de Paulina, no se casó para adquirir “crías” pero las “heredo” por obligación legal. Esto en si se convierte en el sacrificio que Paulina tendría que hacer, pero al mismo tiempo, es decisión voluntaria.
Al final, Ana empieza a tener dificultad en su mundo fantástico porque su tía interrumpe los momentos nocturnos cuando Ana se despierta a en actuar sus recuerdos con su madre. Paulina busca darle cariño y ternura, pero para Ana, es un crimen querer tomar el lugar de su madre. Ana decide que Paulina debe morir usando el veneno en la leche. El director, Carlos Saura, da un vuelco de esperanza, cuando Ana descubre que la hermana de su madre aún vive. Ana finalmente “percibe” que su “tutora y protectora” es de bien, y no de mal. Su tía venció la muerte, venció al mal, que es algo que solo la divinidad puede lograr. El mensaje es de que la división de genero tiene que mejorar en la nueva España, que los recuerdos, traumas y muerte que causo Franco sirvan como lección para seguir adelante y explorar nuevas ideas de orden para que las “crías” no se conviertan cuervos del franquismo.
It was intriguing to see little Ana in another film so shortly after The Spirit of the Beehive. She didn’t seem much older or different, still quiet in nature with huge, haunting brown eyes. In both the Spirit of the Beehive and Cría Cuervos , Ana moves methodically in her steps, in her observation and interaction with others, and in washing the dishes after “killing”. While her mannerisms seemed somewhat endearing in the first film, it was creepy in this film, she seemed psychologically disturbed by the death of her parents, more so her mother. Ever resentful of her selfish and militaristic father, she plotted to kill both he and her aunt Paulina. Though she wasn’t actually the cause of her father’s death, it was her intent in both cases which speaks to the degree of illness within her. While Saura didn’t believe in the innocence of children, I believe Ana became a product of the environment in which she was raised. She witnessed countless scenes that would traumatize a child and therefore, Ana became a warped version of herself. All of the girls struggled to understand womanhood without a maternal role model. The scene in which the girls played with makeup, one taking on the role of the wife, one as the husband, and one as the maid started out innocently enough—trying on makeup, wigs, and women’s undergarments but it was soon affected by the unfortunate reality of their lives as they played out an argument that mirrored one of their parents. Though the girls laughed throughout the scene, it was an expression of a deeply painful truth that they saw in marriages all around them. As we discussed in class, children are empty vessels and in this case, the vessels became filled with anger, resentment, loss and betrayal. The girls didn’t seem to have a single positive or “normal” relationship demonstrated to them, the people they would become would be deeply affected by the dysfunction in which they grew up.
ReplyDeleteIn relating this to the political age in which the film was made, I would say that Saura (as all Spanish filmmakers were doing) sought a way to embed an active and relevant message to the people of Spain while remaining under the radar of government censors. As Franco’s reign came to an end, the people felt lost as to what would come next, much like a child after the loss of their parents. The dysfunctional way in which they had been “brought up” lent itself to psychological trauma, uncertainty but yet resolve. Resolve to “right the wrongs” that had been done to them as Ana sought to take justice into her own hands while “poisoning” her father and aunt.
Cria Cuervos Review
ReplyDelete---Xiaoke Qi
Director Carlos Saura used the most straightforward way to present the little girl’s view and understanding of the world through Ana’s eyes and minds, including imagination, memories, confession, and introspection. The result of evil was placed at the beginning of the film when Ana killed, at least in her perspective, her father. Ana had impressing clam after the “murder” because she believed her mother would understand and agree with her. Yet, the real reason was Ana’s guilt when she witnessed her mother’s horrifying and resentment moan and her hatred towards her father’s disregard and disloyalty to the family. Once we learned about the cause to Ana’s coldness, we could understand her dependency to her mother. When the grew-up Ana talked about her inner thoughts, she presented herself as her mother’s image because her mother was a part of her imagination and her life. Thus, Ana yelled at her aunt “I wish you were dead” when Aunt Paulina told her the little almond story like her mother. The fear of Aunt Paulina’s replacement of her mother intensified her inner evil. Then finally when Ana saw her aunt was having an affair with the husband of “the other lady” who had caused her father’s death. Even though Ana refused to admit, she was actually accepting Aunt Paulina as a mother’s role in the family. The betray pushed Ana to the extreme evil, not the action of poisoning her aunt using baking soda but the determination of killing a close family. The path of the growth of Ana’s inner evil was clear and reasonable, and we would not blame a girl for the transition from an innocent purity to ferocity. We had known from the beginning of Ana’s evil, and thus the inevitable process became painful and warning for us to wonder the reason. Why would an innocent girl had to go through this unavoidable transition?
The seed of evil had been planted in the eight-year-old girl’s heart, and although Ana did not actually kill her father or aunt, the darkness inside her had spread out the effects from her family into to school and the society. Cria Cuervos described the process how Ana became psychologically depressed and abnormal, and this process actually reflected the society of Spain during the dictatorship. The family had a luxury house with a wasted swimming pool that was incompatible with the modernization in Europe. The family was always depressed since the mother was suffering illness from lack of love and the father totally ignored the family and cheated on the marriage. The parents’ influence on kids symbolized the social influence during dictatorship period in Spain. The ugly and suffocating social atmosphere in the authoritarian ruled Spain was planting the negative emotions into people’s hearts. Ana closed her eyes tightly to look back in her life asking for comfort from her mother. Yet, people in Spain during the 1970s were looking back with terror and moving forwards with trepidation. The innocent people witnessed and experienced the cruelty and oppression, which formed their evil and distorted character, while it then spread through family to society, exacerbating the country’s deformity and evil. The story happened inside the ornately traditional, deserted house during the school break, but Ana walked out the house, emerged into the society, and joined the school kids at the end of the film. The twisted humanity was spread out into the society, as well as to the future generations of the country.
Adylene Silva
ReplyDeleteLas películas El Espíritu de la Colmena y Cría Cuervos tienen varios aspectos en común. Ambos cuentan con la actriz Ana Torrent, que juega por su nombre en ambas películas y es una actriz absolutamente notable. Lo que vemos en el Espíritu de la Colmena es la transformación que las vidas han tomado después de la Guerra Civil en España. Ana, representa a la juventud en España y la generación que ha vivido y superará a la guerra. Creo que es una buena representación de lo que les sucede a los niños que pasan por experiencias de la vida real y el cambio que impacta su inocencia. Puedes ver lo mismo en Cría Cuervos, hay una sensación de pérdida, no sólo física sino una pérdida de tradicionales. Las niñas están constantemente intentando de entender la muerte como en la otra película. Creo que es una representación clara de la situación de España en el momento. Tienen esta generación entera de jóvenes que está tratando de ser creados en este "nuevo mundo" pero tienen poca o ninguna supervisión de los padres. Para agregar a ese tema, las tradiciones, como las personas mayores en las películas, están cansadas o no se pueden hablar como en Cría Cuervos. ¿Así que la pregunta es, quien está allí para la nueva generación para enseñarles las cosas de la vida? Esto también se representa muy bien con las chicas de Cría Cuervos, que tienen una casa que está cerrada en el centro de la ciudad. En la última escena y a lo largo de la película, ves la clara influencia del lugar de la cultura pop en el momento. Esta nueva modernización de la juventud es una alegoría política a los nuevos tiempos. La juventud termina llevando mucho peso en las decisiones que inevitablemente afectará el país.
ReplyDeleteWatching Ana in another film after watching The Spirit of The Beehive was very interesting. Her doe eyes intrigued me the entire movie, and it intrigued me as well in Cría Cuervos. I thought this movie was very interesting, and I did not understand this film as well. Unfortunately, the two latest movies we have watched in class have been the hardest for me to decipher, as I wasn’t sure what the entire plot or what the director was trying to say in his movie. Ana also has a sister in this movie, and they both have some peculiar actions throughout the film. I believe the actress Ana was used for the film as the characters she plays in each film are quite similar, of seeing something traumatizing and using her doe eyes to her advantage to captivate the audience. Ana also did not talk as much in this film. I’ve noticed more males seem to have more dialogue in each film, seeming to use Ana for the child quiet feel, and also her innocence. When the girls are playing dress up and before they are caught by the maid, the two little girls and another sister upon Ana’s birth mother passing away were playing dress up with different gender roles. However, when the maid caught them, they immediately silenced themselves as if they knew how much trouble they were in. This shows to me how strict the new household is living with their new Aunt, as she is much more stern than the caring mother who unfortunately passed away through an illness.
I believe the film does a great job of showing how genders acted during the Franco-era. Women were timid and never spoke up to males. Children were expected to be on their best behavior at all times and would be punished if they had too much fun. I believe this is a great representation of what it must have been like while living in the Franco era. Because everything was censored and everybody constantly as watched over, I believe children were unable to live normal lives and become a little twisted (in the head) from the surroundings of war, causing them to be slightly dysfunctional as an adult. I received this vibe from the aunt, as she was quite mean to the children and seemed to act more as a robot compared to her sister.
Crίa cuervos, written and directed by Carlos Saura in 1976, is an incredibly interesting film that discreetly demonstrates the social and political position of Spain during Franco’s regime, while simultaneously presenting a subtle vision of what is to come in the years following Franco’s death (1975). To start, as talked about in class, I believe that the film does indeed convey the idea that the youth who hold Spain’s future in their hands are greatly influenced and shaped by their environment and parental figures, which in this case, does not seem to point to a very promising future. The three young girls, Maite, Ana, and Irene, have all experienced a tremendous amount of trauma in their lives, including the death of both their father and mother. Even before this, they were raised in an environment that was clearly impacted by Franco’s regime; there are massive amounts of tension, depression, and darkness permeating throughout the house, which is certainly not the ideal condition to be raising the future leaders and developers of Spain. In addition to this, the three girls have not been educated or made aware of the current environment that they are living in or of the past horrors of the Civil War, partially due to a lack of parental figures in their lives. This ignorance and carelessness is perfectly displayed during the scene in which the girls are handling their father’s guns with complete carelessness and nonchalance. To me, this scene is quite disturbing because it is showing how the girls, who have not grown up in ideal conditions, have been greatly impacted by their environment, and how they are most definitely going to bring their beliefs and ideals (whether corrupt or not), into the new Spain. CONT
ReplyDeleteAlong with this concept, I also believe that Saura does an amazing job of displaying both the role that women possessed during Franco’s regime, as well as foreshadowing the “new” woman that was about to emerge with the impending death of Franco. The quintessential woman of the Franco regime is most definitely represented by Marίa. She is a beautiful and talented woman; however, she chooses to abandon her passions and potential career and instead, she latches onto a man. With this, she loses absolutely all sense of independence and ownership; she constantly begs for her husband’s attention and love and describes how she is so miserable in life that she wants to die. On top of this, she is also always seen wearing a very modest, traditional dress, with her hair and makeup done in a very conservative, unprovocative manner. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we see Amelia, who is shown wearing modern clothing, including jeans, as well as wearing large amounts of makeup. She is presented in an overall more sensual and sexual way. In addition to her physical appearance, Amelia also breaks free from the standard expectations of women during Franco’s Spain. She is provocative, outspoken, and independent, which we can see through her willingness to have an affair behind her husband’s back. By presenting these two contrasting female characters within his film, I believe that Saura is foreshadowing the potential, drastic change of the role of women that was soon to come after Franco’s death in 1975. I also believe that Saura uses the daughters to display this impending change; however, he presents them as a form of compromise and melding between the traditional and the modern woman. The three girls dress properly, behave well, and seem to maintain most of the traditional values that women were known to possess. That being said, there is a scene in which all three girls refuse to comply with regulations that were typical of the time, which represents this breakage from the quintessential role of the woman. In my opinion, this is best displayed during the scene in which the three girls refuse to eat properly, even after being taught. Overall, Crίa cuervos is a captivating film that not only serves as a wonderful form of entertainment to the viewers, but also as an accurate representation of Spain during Franco’s regime, as well as a vision of what was to come.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIn Victor Erice’s film The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), the audience is presented with a dilapidated setting marked with tired structures and a more or less monochromatic landscape. The story of Frankenstein is introduced from the beginning of the film and presents itself several more times throughout. There is a definite sense of loneliness and isolation felt by the characters but especially Ana. The parents are relatively absent, though the father teaches the girls the majority of everything they know. The mother is almost entirely absent. Although their father teaches them valuable lessons (which mushrooms are poisonous), a lot is left up to the girls to figure out. I’m not sure what the significance of Frankenstein’s monster is. There seems to be a definite link between him and Ana, however. When looking at her reflection in the pond, her face suddenly transforms into the monster’s face. Though this is obviously some sort of hallucination or figment of her imagination, this shows that she relates to the monster in some way. We discussed the significance of bees and the beehive in class. Bees are a reflection of a thriving community, but to what extent? The all-powerful queen rules the worker bees and their entire day revolves around her. This could be a reference to the dictatorship of Franco.
In Carlos Saura’s Cria Cuervos (1976), there is a definite sense of dysfunction, loneliness, isolation, and trauma. After the death of their parents, three young ladies try to grapple with death. The kids cope with the loss the best they can, but Ana is by far the most traumatized. She relives memories of her mother and has a hard time separating the past from the present in her reality. It seems that the memories of her mother surface most at night when Ana is trying to sleep. The girls are forced to grow up at an early age and it is obvious from the beginning that they are not allowed time to grieve or process what has happened. The girls dress for their father’s wake and are forced by their aunt to kiss their dead father and say a prayer for his soul. Their behavior is very proper and there is no room for emotion. It seems that all the women in the movie are not permitted to show emotion. Their mother was once a very talented pianist, heading toward a life of fame. After marrying and having children, however, she is bound to the house and left alone for several hours a day. We see this detrimental effect this has on her when she begs her husband to love her and when he doesn’t supply her with the response she wants or needs, she declares that she is sick and wants to die. Eventually she does pass away. She tells Ana in a state of utter agony that “there is nothing” and “it is all a lie.” Aunt Paulina does not seem to be happy either and constantly maintains a veneer-like appearance and insistence on emotional stoicism. The grandmother does not seem to be at peace. Though she is beautiful in her pearls and lovely outfits, there is a sadness about her that is particularly evident when she looks at the pictures. It is insinuated that she told stories of her past to the girls and no longer can in her old age. Ana witnesses very adult things that no child should ever have to see, especially within the family dynamic.
El año que murió Francisco Franco, 1975, el director Carlos Saura produjo una pelicula simbólica ilustrar las cicatrices del régimen Franco en el público español. El personaje principal Ana (juega por Ana Torrent) está tratando de hacer frente a la vida después de la muerte de su madre y de su padre. Mientras ella y sus hermanas se adaptan a la vida con sus tía y abuela, nosotros vemos comparaciones con los dificultades de España después del gobierno y la dictadura de Franco. La verdadera pregunta que se pide por esta película es: "España sería capaces de convertirse en miembro funcional del mundo después de ser criado en un hogar disfuncional donde Franco era el padre?"
ReplyDeleteEl padre Anselmo es un hombre masculino y fuerte, pero también inmoral y sin cuidar de su esposa o familia. La madre de Ana, Maria, tiene mucho humildad, y ella cuida para sus hijas. Pero su pecado grande era su incapacidad para proteger Ana desde las cualidades destructivas de Anselmo. De hecho, debido a la disfunción de los padres de Ana, ella y sus hermanas son criados sin maneras apropiadas. Para usar un ejemplo, ellas crean que es normal para jugar con armas, y Ana casi duele su tía. Nosotros empezamos ver que las chicas no solo el producto de su ambiente, pero ellas son un peligro, también. El padre de Ana es Franco, y debido su personalidad y la disfunción dentro de "su familia" (el resto de España), cuando él murió, España fue mal equipado hacerse un miembro del mundo.
Nos quedamos con la esperanza. La tía retratada en la película está llena de compasión, y, aunque ella parece terminante, ella continúa ayudando a las chicas para ser ajustado a la vida en un hogar funcional. Está claro que Ana especialmente se rompe debido a su crianza, pero el director Saura indica que puede haber esperanza para el futuro al final de la película con Ana y sus hermanas van a la escuela - tomar el próximo paso para unirse al mundo real.
Scott Weaver
Both the Spirit of the Beehive and Cria Cuervos were incredibly intriguing yet difficult to interpret; Cria Cuervos perhaps a bit less difficult. It was interesting to see Ana transformed from the first film to the second, although she did not portray the same character, it was challenging to see her as a less than innocent version of the Beehive Ana. Saura’s use of the actor’s own names within the script identifies a creative use of societal archetypes. It is a complex mélange of individualism mixed with anti-individualism, allowing or perhaps preventing the characters to know their role within post-Franco Spain. By using their own names, the actors are in some way being asked to portray their own self on screen and within a plot separate from their own lives. But it could also be argued that possessing their own name gives them the opportunity to represent everyman. It is maybe similar to plays or stories in which each character is simply referred to as “the man” or “the student.” Individuality is cast away to reveal a single representation of being a “type” in a given society; a sort of insert-your-name-here and thus fulfill your already written role.
ReplyDeleteThe role of children in Cria Cuervos can be compared to a soon to be post-Franco Spain in that the children have had a metaphorical band aid ripped off and are left to figure the future out on their own. In that case of Ana, she is arguably mentally disturbed as an adult who is unable to see herself as an individual, but rather as her dead mother. Her memories are choppy and as an audience we are left uncertain as to whether Ana’s memory is an accurate depiction of what exactly occurred some years ago. The fact that she is a female is even more important because in a post-Franco Spain, females must figure out how to fulfill a role that has not been previously written for them as in years before. For so long, women have been told what to do and say, and where not to be (outside of the home). Now that Ana is “free” as an adult, she is still unable to assign her own role because it was never shown to her.
At the end of Cria Cuervos, just before the last scene, Ana’s older sister describes a dream that she had the night before, telling her sisters: “just as they were about to untie me, I woke up.” After this line, a group of children are shown going out into the world and the sun is out. We are out of the dark and depressing house with all the dysfunction and traumatic memories. Her dream ended before the men untied her and she was unable to see what happened when she was either released or killed. This perhaps is representative of the changing roles of young girls in society as they will have to find their own way and the future is unknown. Unlike the children in Death of a Cyclist who knew what to do and knew how to band together for a common and positive cause regardless of individual purpose, Ana and her sisters must figure out how to survive in this new role.
The symbolic connections in Cria Cuervos are pretty overt. The dead father symbol is intended to be direct, he’s military, we see that he keeps the household confined in the home, especially the mother.
ReplyDeleteThe mother is something of a symbol for Spain itself. Early in the film as Ana talks about her mother having once been a cultured musician. Possibly a reference to the history of great cultural accomplishments, and artistic potential of traditional Spain. The fact that the mother subverts those accomplishments, and is artistically stifled once married to the father (Nationalist ideology), indicates that she is in some sense a symbol of what Spain has lost. Her painful death could be a reference to the death of all cultural possibilities that could have been had Franco’s ideals not taken hold of the nation.
The effect that watching the death of the mother has on Ana, who is representative of the youth and future, the inheritor of Spanish society, are indicative of the attitudes of the filmmakers. Ana, being speculatively the cause of her father’s death, reflects the possibly the notion that the youth culture desired to have something new, to operate within its own power. The presence of the aunt as the last vestige of the controlling force is what Ana rebels against most directly.
The aunt, she’s an incredibly dynamic character. Her role as the normal older woman who is forced by accident to oversee the children and protect them, is a role that speaks to the possibility of the immediate post-Franco government. She’s uncertain about how matronly or how punitive she’s supposed to be, and that uncertainty coupled with her obvious authority in the wake of the death of “establishment figures” is what sets young Ana so against her.
-Elias Palmer
Alex Willis
ReplyDeleteIn Carlos Suara’s film Cria Cuervos, the audience is presented with several concepts that reflect the feelings and emotions of Spanish society at the end of the Franco era. Like Spirit of the Beehive, Cria Cuervos features children as the main actors, which gives a refreshing and youthful vibe to the film, something that Suara and Bunuel could have been hinting at. But unlike Bunuel’s film, Carlos Suara partly takes away the innocence of children, or at least makes the children think they are no longer innocent or naive. This leads me to believe that Suara could be using children to convey a political message that the end of the Franco era has come and people will start to realize what turmoil he had caused. Citizens of all ages will start to realize what influence they have been under for decades and begin to modernize, and the first generation of children in many years will be free to express themselves as they choose. An interesting caveat regarding this thought from the film was the friction between Paulina, the aunt and the three girls. The girls definitely displayed fairly optimistic attitudes given their circumstances but it was as if Paulina was constantly trying to remind them of the past and not letting them move on. The fact that Ana wanted her to die and attempted to kill her with the “poison” could be indicative of how Suara felt about the Franco regime reminding him of the past. But the fact that Paulina didn’t die shows that despite an individuals greatest attempts to evolve at the end of this era, there will still be an overshadowing presence of Franco’s influence for some time to come.
One of the biggest points made apparent in my opinion throughout this film was the amount of suffering each character went through. This might not have necessarily been inspired by Suara’s life, but more likely a political statement. This seems to be a culmination of feelings and frustration displayed in this film through the suffering of these girls. The Spanish civil war divided the country, and while those on the side of Franco had little changes to their lives, people on the losing side could have experienced hardships for years. This is just a theory I had on how the suffering related to cultural aspects of Spain during this time, but I find it a bit odd that a family with a military man in it would be the subject of sorrow.
One last odd part of the film I noticed was why Ana was so curious about death. It is a bit strange for a young girl to think about subjects of that matter that are difficult to comprehend. It makes sense in Ana’s circumstances in the film because both of her parents died but this could be another political allegory suggesting that change is coming and it will not be easy to adapt to.
La película, El espíritu de la colmena (1973) dirigida por Víctor Erice me pareció la película más interesante que hemos visto en clase. Este fue el primer filme que me dejó con la impresión de verla una segunda vez para poder comprender la simbología de las escenas y especialmente el personaje de Ana. Considerando que esta película se filmó en el año 1973, significa que Franco en este tiempo estaba enfermo en su cama para morir en dos años. Pienso que esto significa que es por eso que el director Erice usó pistas y simbologías durante la historia para poder retratar los problemas sociales del país. Sin embargo, al principio se muestra que la historia se lleva a cabo en el año 1940, solamente un año después del fin de la guerra civil española. En este año es cuando el General Francisco Franco dio un golpe de estado y se convirtió en el dictador de España. Su dictadura se le recuerda en la escena donde la mamá de las niñas, Teresa, lanza la carta que escribió a su antiguo amor quien parece ser un joven de la guerrilla refugiado en Francia. La carta que lanza tiene la estampa de Franco y me imagino que en esos tiempos también revisaban las cartas que se mandaban desde sus hogares a los militares refugiados. Cuando Ana busca al “espíritu” que le cuenta su hermana, Isabel, corre a la casa abandonada que quizás pueda ser una casa abandonada durante la guerra, en la cual se escode el refugiado. Por un tiempo, pensé que el refugiado era el amante de Teresa y que había regresado por ella y las niñas, porque honestamente Teresa y Don Fernando no parecían tener un buen matrimonio. También me dio la sensación de que Don Fernando sabía que el refugiado estaba en esa casa abandonada y que Ana le había ayudado porque la pone a prueba durante el desayuno familiar. En ese caso, Don Fernando me recordó bastante a Franco y al monstruo Frankenstein. Es decir que, Ana encuentra al refugiado muerto y al salir de la casa ve a su padre, ella inmediatamente corre para alejarse de él. Sin embargo, cuando Ana está sentada frente la laguna, se encuentra frente a frente con el monstruo, quien por un instante me recordó a su papá. Esta relación entre el monstruo y su padre me parecieron difíciles de entender, ya que al mismo tiempo la escena entre el monstruo y Ana se me hizo rara. El personaje de Isabel me dio un poco de miedo, debido a sus acciones cuando quiso sofocar a su gato y también pretendió hacerse la muerta en frente de Ana. Estas extrañas acciones de Isabel me parecieron reflejar a la sociedad bajo la dictadura franquista. Es decir que cuando sofocaba al gato, los ciudadanos se sentían sofocados y oprimidos bajo las leyes de Franco. Es así como en cierta manera sentí que Isabel representó a la sociedad española oprimida mientras que Ana representó a la transición. Finalmente, lo que también me llamó la atención fue que había muchos niños y niñas en la película, pero muy pocos adultos, especialmente hombres. Sin embargo, después de haberlo pensado, me acordé que la película se lleva a cabo en el año 1940, lo cual quiere decir que muchos hombres murieron durante la guerra y varias familias se quedaron sin la figura paternal. Honestamente, El espíritu de la colmena me gustó bastante; las escenas dirigidas por Erice, la música, la simbología, etc., y pienso que es una película que se necesita ver, mínimo, dos veces.
ReplyDelete-Bianca Soto
Rather than speaking on this movie specifically, I think I should address some of the underlying sexism I’ve noticed in these movies. Even ‘talk to her’ held to this trope that has been nagging at me through all of this past week: a woman with power near equal to a man will bring disaster. In talk to her, benigno claimed that he had the best relationship with his comatose fixation, because they had no fights at all. In the next movie we watched, death of a cyclist, the woman had enough power to be desired by her husband and still made immoral decisions that resulted in both broken hearts and death. She chose those actions because she was given the power to do so. Viridiana had her decisions blow up in her face, while her cousin made wise choices that she could fall back on.
ReplyDeleteHowever in the beehive, there was no woman with ‘equal power’ to a man. The woman with the most power in that one, was the servant dubbed a Miracle. Rather than cause trouble subservient woman in these movies seem to be representative of the moral compass that the younger generations should strive to match up to. The servant in Viridiana was also helpful and did not cause problems, and the female nurses in talk to her kept the peace.
In this last movie Cria Cuervos, both a woman with power and a kind servant were shown in those roles twice over. The mother had more power than she realized, and set it about committing her suicide, but she was not really the one with the power over death, she simply shown her daughter where her poison was kept, though she didn’t tell her daughter that it was only disguised as baking powder. Ana created trouble, as did her aunt. Their fight for control was the main driving force of this narrative, and it only ended ‘well’ because Ana’s poison had been thrown out without her knowing. Still the father was killed by that poison she planted.
The two ‘good’ subservient woman were the maid/friend of the deceased mother and the lonely grandma. These two gave kindness to Ana while trying to help the troubled child come to terms with her mothers death and move on. The Maid did so by recounting tales of the mother and by doing motherly/sisterly things on demand. The grandma did by sharing old memories with her granddaughter, the last person whom cared for her in the world. These two lights were not enough to quell Ana’s darkness, and if not for her container of poison being replaced or perhaps simply not a poison, Ana would have continued murdering those whom got on her bad side.
I’m not sure if any of the film’s we’ll be watching will have strong woman whom don’t fall into the trappings of their own power, I hope we watch at least one of these movies that doesn’t nag at my feminist censor scope.
-Tim Henderson
Si quieres una película con una familia disfuncional y rota que te deja en lágrimas, “Cría Cuervos” por Carlos Saura es la película estás mirando para. Que película tan horrible y emocional. La manera que Saura representa España durante la época afecta el espectador como los españoles eran afectado de la régimen Franco. En principio, Saura le mata el padre de Ana, un soldado, que es muy raro para la edad de Franco. Esto puede representar el final de la régimen Franco que había pasado el año original de la fecha de lanzamiento de “Cría Cuervos”. Un tema constante es la canción “Porque te vas”, que el espectador oye representa la idea que Ana no tiene una comprehensión de la muerte, como su tía dijo, Ana no entiendes las consecuencias. Solo entiendes lo que quiere y la asistencia de personas. La película tiene una confusión entre la muerte y la vida, las cosas malas y las buenas. Es muy interesante, la utilización de la canción de la cantante, Jeanette. La canción es una adicción de Saura para un commentario del aislamiento de ambos Ana y España. Ana no puede disfrutar la adolescencia porque la muerte y es lo mismo para España. La idea de disfrute fue abandonado durante el régimen de Franco y solo había el sufrimiento. Porque Ana no puede disfrutar su juventud ella se recluye de los que proban a ayudarle. La canción es una metáfora para la vida y su comprehensión de la muerte y el aislamiento. Es un emblema exterior de un crisis interior. La canción es muy poderoso porque para Ana, representa las memorias de su vida con su madre. La película me molesta mucho porque le hace una niña inocente a ser una niña confundida y por eso, inestable y peligroso. Ana está luchando con la idea de la muerte y el director crea un carácter nocivo de ella. La película es demasiada emocionalmente y es tan dificil a ver el sufrimiento y el terrible maduración de una niña.
ReplyDeleteCría de cuervos (1975) dirigida por Carlos Saura fue filmada en el año que murió el dictador Francisco Franco, lo cual parece estar relacionada con temas más profundos y oscuros. El personaje de Ana en esta película es mucho más serio y muestra un lado más oscuro que en la película de Erice, El espíritu de la colmena (1973). Por ejemplo en el filme dirigido por Saura, Ana todavía es una niña que no ha experimentado la pubertad. Sin embargo, considerando que Ana es una niña pequeña, ha pasado por experiencias difíciles, las cuales, una niña de su edad no debería ser testigo. Por ejemplo, de muy temprana edad, vivió la muerte de su madre y estuvo allí cuando estaba sufriendo en su cama debido a una enfermedad desconocida. No solo experimentó su muerte, pero también fue testigo del sufrimiento de su madre a causa del militar de su padre. Es por eso que durante la película, la pobre de Ana, se encuentra confundida, rencorosa y sin ánimo de vivir una vida feliz, ya que todos sus seres queridos, especialmente las mujeres de su vida, no han vivido una vida feliz. Sin duda, la muerte de su madre, le afecta más a Ana que a sus otras dos hermanas, ya que Saura siempre muestra a Ana junto a su madre y el amor que le tenía. El personaje de Ana representa a la sociedad española después de la muerte de Franco, porque al estar acostumbrados a una vida oprimida durante la larga dictadura franquista, en el momento que murió, el país se encontraba totalmente perdido. También pienso que Ana representa a la nueva generación de jóvenes de la transición, ya que ella no vivió exactamente lo que vivieron sus padres, especialmente su madre, pero al mismo tiempo, no tiene supervisión de un adulto o alguien quien la pueda guiar en su vida. Al final de la película, cuando las tres hermanas regresan a la escuela, es como si quisiera decir que como sociedad, deben de seguir adelante y por fin pueden salir “libremente” de sus hogares a comenzar una nueva vida.
ReplyDelete-Bianca Soto
For Cría Cuervos
ReplyDeleteIn our latest exploration of films crossing with Spanish history is Carlos Saura’s Cría Cuervos. Produced late in the year of 1975, while Francisco Franco faced his impending death, the film gives a view to a life without oppression. Cría Cuervos appears to show a young girl grieving the loss of her mother. On one level, the film is a coming of age film, showing how Ana overcomes the death of her parents, mainly her mother, to become the adult that reflects back on her past. Also reflected on is the state of Spain during the transition of Franco’s death. Both views are explored in the film, intertwining the fictional plot of the film with reality. There are different levels of death that Cría Cuervos covers in order to show these parallels. There is the death of the father representing the death of the fascist regime. Ana grieving for her mother and the parallel of the Spanish citizens grieving for the freedoms lost. Then also in the reverse, after dealing with relinquish of oppression, finding a way to face life afterwards. Cría Cuervos shows the reflection of the reality that existed after the Spanish Civil War well, and the uncertainty of the future that lied beyond the Spanish citizens.
Young Ana of Cría Cuervos mirrors the Spanish people. Unable to move past her mother’s death, Ana reflects on her and the good times. She is also unable to determine what she wants to do with her future. The Spanish people faced the same reality before and after the death of Francisco Franco. Under Franco’s regime, there was extreme censorship and a strict code of rules. Both men and women were expected to act a certain way. Once free from Franco, there were possibilities of democracy. There were more opportunities to be creative. Despite these options, it was still difficult to see the right steps to take for the future. It is in this way that the film reflects the state of Spain dealing with the death of Franco with Ana’s situations.
Marcos Willman
ReplyDeleteIn Spirit of the Beehive by Victor Erice, we find many loose ends and much to be interpreted. The town in which they live is very rural, but almost appears as though it had once been more prosperous. There are many themes of mysticism throughout, starting with Isabel mentioning a spirit to her sister and being seemingly aware of a spirit coming in and going. She also teaches Ana how to call for it, “close your eyes and call its name...” she says. These themes of mysticism might be drawing attention to the dead, the lost ways of the past, or maybe the silence created by the Spanish Regime. Isabel at one point pretends to have died and tricks her sister into believing it for a short while, afterwards it seems Ana was very scared, but I believe that she now understands death, to me that was the point in which young Ana lost her ‘innocence’ and was exposed to the darker aspects of life. After that moment she seems to act on her own and refrains from following her sister around as she did in the first part of the film, which then leads to Ana finding the Guerilla fighter in the abandoned home. Almost every aspect of the film is left open for interpretation, perhaps to encourage the audience to question, to question the film, but also to question their own surroundings, their own political landscape, so to speak.
In contrast, Cria Cuervos does not leave open as many loose ends. Ana in this film seems to have lost her innocence earlier on, by seeing the relationship between her parents and being witness to the struggles of her mother. At the beginning of the film you see her cleaning a glass, which you do not discover until later that she had used for what she believed was poison, presuming that it was her who killed her father. At least Ana would like to think so. In this film there appears to be high tension throughout with the passing of her parents, but the ways in which those struggles still linger throughout their lives in the home. We see constant memories had by Ana, with her and her mother. This deep connection which was lost was put to blame on her father, at least in Ana’s eyes. This can be interpreted as the more innocent woman representing the people of Spain doing away with the militant father or dominant force controlling.
After watching The Spirit of the Beehive, Cria Cuervos seems to be a drastic departure in the characters played by Ana. In Beehive, her character was traumatized and withdrawn due to the circumstances around her and the stark consequences that civil war has had on her surroundings and the adult infrastructure she should be dependent on. However, in Cria Cuervos, Ana’s character reacts very differently to change. It seems that this film is depicting how children may be changed and shaped by watching and emulating the behaviors of adults. The adults of the film seem oblivious to Ana’s disturbing behavior and continue to participate in sordid affairs. An example of this detachment is when Ana, on several occasions attempts to murder people (albeit using baking soda) with her elephant poison. When Ana attempts to tell her family that her father was sleeping with the married woman no one believes her. It is not a far-fetched idea that she would slip into a world of subterfuge. Whereas in Beehive, children seem unsupervised to perhaps the death of many in the war, in Cria, adults are ever present and supervising but they are often so self-absorbed that they don’t realize Ana’s behavior. It’s as if these two films are juxtaposing the effect war had on families and communities directly after and much later. The adults in Cria were children of the civil war. Perhaps these two movies are demonstrating the longer lasting effects of war. Showing how that generation of children have grown and mishandled the current generation due to the invisible scars of warfare.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Braun (Cria Cuervos)
ReplyDeleteCarlos Saura’s film, “Cria Cuervos,” follows the story of a young child, Ana, following the deaths of both parents. The film is set, for the most part, entirely in her child-hood house. The film opens on Ana discovering her father dying while in the midst of an affair with a married woman. The film then plays out with no seemingly straight-forward timeline. Saura managed to capture the almost surreal reality of a person having to go through the emotions of death from a close family member. Sometimes one may feel as if they are living in the past, while simultaneously living in the present and future. The camera is able to follow a linear reality of the young heroine while simultaneously stepping into her thoughts and memories, past, present, and future. The story will carry out linearly until something in Ana’s life manages to trigger a memory – typically about her kind loving mother. After the memory has played out for the audience, the present timeline tends to continue, uninterrupted. The movie also reveals a sort of interview with a fully-grown Ana while speaking about the memories that are being played out for the audience. This film manages to capture a surreal reality while somehow staying grounded in the present story – exactly the way one’s mind works when having to deal with a tragedy.
This film’s experiences of trauma have been linked to repression both in the social and historical context of the time Post-Franco. The scene that truly links these struggles to it’s historical context come when the girls are assisting Rosa in cleaning their father’s den. Irene, Ana’s older sister, asks Rosa when the war ended while all three children take up guns that they say their father left them. This is symbolic of a misguided child rearing that promotes a legacy of violence throughout generations, which sums up the title of the film as well as an old Spanish proverb, “raise ravens and they’ll peck your eyes out.”
Matthew Braun (El Espiritu de la Colmena)
ReplyDeleteVictor Erice’s “El Espiritu de la Colmena,” is a film set up in a remote village of Spain, isolated from any major cities, and yet is still feeling the effects of the Franco dictatorship. The film follows Ana and her older sister Isabel, living with their parents Fernando and Teresa. Each character attempts to cope with the mundane life of the village. Fernando strictly keeps to his beehives as he is caught in a loveless marriage. The same goes for his wife, Teresa, who is writing letters to a lover whom was caught up in the civil war.
A truck rolls into town carrying the latest movie, “Frankenstein.” Both sisters attend the premiere of the movie, and Ana is captured by the idea of Frankenstein’s monster. Later that night, Ana asks her sister about the movie, why did the monster kill the little girl, and why did the villagers kill the monster? Isabel reveals to Ana that there is an abandoned shack out in a field where Frankenstein’s monster lives, and that he is in fact a spirit.
After school the next day, the two sisters go to investigate the abandoned shack and look for the spirit of Frankenstein in the water well, but to no avail. Ana does see a large boot print and compares sizes to her own foot, which is considerably smaller. This allows her imagination to take over and believe the boot print belonged to the spirit of Frankenstein.
Ana’s imagination shows her innocence as she is attempting to figure out the world around her. Her sister, on the other hand, is past a point of innocence as we see when she strangles the family cat, gets scratched and spreads her own blood on her lips.
A freedom fighter is seen jumping off a train, breaking his ankle and finding refuge in the abandoned shack. Ana finds this man and believes him to be the spirit of Frankenstein, and cares for him by providing him food and a jacket. Eventually the police find out this man is there and show up with automatic weapons to kill him.
Ana returns to the shack to only find bullet holes and blood stains, and decides to run away. She is found later on, but she still has come full circle asking: why have the villagers killed the spirit of Frankenstein? Why did her own villagers kill this man?
This was probably my favorite movie we watch in this class. It is an almost horrifying coming-of-age tale that easily confuses any sort of innocent mind that is trying to make sense of a world that has been ruined by a fascist dictator.