MovieChat Forums > El espíritu de la colmena (1975) Discussion > Did the girl actually 'see' the monster ...

Did the girl actually 'see' the monster or was it a hallucination

posted 16 years ago by pschroeter
16 replies | jump to latest

In the scene right before Ana sees Frankestein we see her standing above a mushroom. I thought this implied she may have eaten a poisonous mushroom and didn't really see Frankenstein and was hallucinating, or maybe she was dreaming. The doctor didn't notice any poisoning, but I was interested in why the scene was there.

I loved this movie. I willing to admit that even when I didn't understand everything that was going on, I really had to admire how beautifully it was filmed.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] dragan94 16 years ago

Ana was not dreaming or hallucinating, there indeed was a Boris Karloff look-alike Frankenstein monster roaming around in the forest!

[–] Lentejuela 16 years ago

Are you being sarcastic dragan? The way you say it, it´s hard to tell.

[–] Lentejuela 16 years ago

pschroeter,
The answer to your question is discussed in the thread ¨The Vision.¨
Ana had to ingest or absorb through the skin a bit of the mushroom causing her to have an hallucinogenic effect of seeing monster Frankenstein and the lake too. See the email I posted in ¨The Vision¨ thread providing a link to a sight that explains the hallucinogenic effects of ingesting psychedelic mushrooms. http://www.smoke-nut.com/dictionary/psychedelic-mushrooms-(shrooms)/
It´s a wonderful film. At the same time, the mushroom might have a symbolic meaning. Someone said death but I don´t think so. I think it represents the oppressive fascist regime and perhaps the oppression caused by the authoritative father. It can also represent what it is prohibited or imposed to us without giving us the chance to decide for ourselves. This is the way I see it. Other opinions?

[–] FZ-FX 16 years ago

While I'm sure that the director had the fascist regime in mind for a lot of his symbolism, I tend to ignore that and focus on the story as a fable of childhood. As such, I really like your second explanation.
Regardless, that scene is one of the most profoundly beautiful/scary/haunting I've ever seen, and to be honest I can't really explain why. That's one of the things that I love about the film: it appeals to you on an almost subconscious level.

[–] ClassicAndForeignFilmLover 16 years ago

I agree, FZ-FX. It is a beautiful/haunting scene regardless of whether we find a meaning underneath its symbolism. As another poster pointed out further above, this film is liked without understanding its symbolism. While there is plenty of it, we can enjoy the film just for what it is. It is a beautiful film just to watch. I also love to watch the little girl act, which always leaves me mesmerized every time I watch the film again. As I have said before, she doesn´t act, she lives the scenes in flesh and spirit making them real to her and to the audience. I find that another plus of the film, even though I have not seen it for quite some time, is the lack of music into it, am I right? It´s mostly the natural sound of what is playing and silence. That and the slow pace and good cinematography put together a haunting and unusual beautiful film. A real gem of a film but not a film for any and all audiences.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] imurguia 16 years ago

Yes, there is music and it is the same song played in the scenes in the abandoned house. Is a traditional spanish kinder song name: "Vamos a contar mentiras" that means more or less "Let's tell lies" and is a version in guitar. I think it is related to some of the themes in the movie as the child fantasies.

[–] Caddy_88 16 years ago

And just as a reminder, Frankenstein was the doctor who made the monster, not the monster itself. Sorry, it seems pointless to mention this, but it is one of my biggest pet peeves.

[–] PsychoDingo 14 years ago

Ana was standing over the mushroom.

Then she saw Frankenstein's monster.

Then the doctor said Ana was under the effect of a powerful experience from which she would certainly recover.

I'm going with: Ana ate a psychedelic mushroom and was high as a kite

All of the evidence points in that direction.

[–] mstanley-1 14 years ago

After just one viewing that was what I immdiately understood to be the case. ;-)

[–] johnmuir76 12 years ago

Was it just me or did the monster look like her Father?

[–] kuchukuchu 12 years ago

i thought that monster look like her father, too. However, in the cast, it is written that it is an another person.

[–] sly_3 9 years ago

The mushroom is a substitute for the flowers the little girl picks in Whale's version, it represents the darker reality of the wider world that she has now experienced. Perhaps symbolism for underground anti-Franco sentiments?
She probably fantasizes about Frankie as an avatar for her father's presence in her life; i certainly thought they both looked similar., but that scene also works as an allusion to the lumbering, dangerous government (that kills little girls!).
Really, That scene is one of the best of the film, it was directed for maximum tension, for sure.

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@sly_3

[–] chuck-526 10 years ago

...was hallucinating...

Probably Yes.

The moving dot of white light while she was approaching the water, then in particular the rising curlicues of white light when she was at the edge of the water, and the difference in how the scene looked when the camera shot over her shoulder vs. when it shot from the other side of the water, were fairly plain indications of visual hallucinations.

The doctor didn't notice any poisoning

Huh? He didn't?

His comment to Anna's mother about her having "a powerful experience" sounded to me like he knew exactly what had happened. (Or maybe my automatically translating his words into "a bad trip" says more about this old hippie than about the movie:-)

[–] greenbudgie 9 years ago

Previously Ana had put her tiny foot into the huge monster footprint. So I don't think that it was anything to do with the mushroom. I can't be sure if she was imagining the monster or not.