DEEP DIVE: Magical Realism: Part 1
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This is a watch at home, discuss in person event — Part I of a two-part Deep Dive into Magical Realism.
Magical realism is a way of depicting reality. Something impossible or unlikely appears, but it isn’t treated as a break from the world. There's no explanation or shift in tone. In The Spirit of the Beehive, a child’s inner world reshapes what we see around her. In Fanny and Alexander, memory, imagination, and the supernatural are treated as part of the same reality. In Like Water for Chocolate, emotion takes on a physical presence, moving through food and affecting everyone who encounters it.
We will meet to discuss our thoughts on Wednesday, May 20, at Edgewater Public Market. We will likely be at a picnic table outside, but please watch the comments for our exact location. Please try to watch all three before attending.
Here is the list of films with instructions on how to find them.
THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (1973, Víctor Erice, Spain)
The Spirit of the Beehive follows a young girl in a small Spanish village, where everyday life is quiet, sparse, and slightly removed from the world beyond it. After seeing Frankenstein, she begins to search for something she doesn’t fully understand, and that search starts to shape how she sees everything around her. Erice keeps the story minimal, but the perspective is precise. What is imagined, remembered, or half-understood carries the same weight as what is actually there. The film never separates the two.
- Watch on Criterion Channel
- Watch for free on YouTube
FANNY AND ALEXANDER (1982, Ingmar Bergman, Sweden)
Fanny and Alexander follows two siblings growing up in a large theatrical family, where performance and everyday life are closely intertwined. After a sudden shift in their home, that sense of security gives way to something more rigid and controlled. Bergman keeps the world concrete, but filters it through the children’s experience. Memory, imagination, and moments that may be supernatural all register as part of the same reality. The film never steps outside that perspective. We will be discussing the theatrical version, not the television version.
- Watch on Criterion Channel
- Watch on HBO Max
- Watch on Tubi
- Watch for free on YouTube
- Rent from Prime
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (1992, Alfonso Arau, Mexico)
Like Water for Chocolate follows a young woman bound by family tradition, where her role in the household leaves little room for her own desires. As her life narrows, her emotions find another outlet through the food she prepares. Measured at first, those feelings begin to take on a visible effect, shaping the behavior and experience of everyone around her. The film treats this as part of the world, not a break from it, and never steps outside that logic.