Young Frankenstein.

It’s hard to be objective about favourite films but here goes… The debut feature of Victor Erice (Spain’s answer to Terrence Malick – three mystical, elliptical efforts since 1973 – only better) is many things. One of cinema’s greatest child-coming-of-age tales, a veiled yet stinging critique of Franco’s crippling regime made under the dictator’s own nose, a tribute to the power of movies (here, James Whale’s Frankenstein) to transform reality, and so much more. The term “masterpiece” is much overused. Here, though, it’s an understatement. (10/10) Leigh Singer 19 September 03

The Spirit Of The Beehive, on selected release 19 September 03.