Newly released this week from the Criterion Collection is a classic film from Spanish director Carlos Saura. While Saura has primarily been known for his filmic exporations of Spain’s musical culture, his earlier films have looked at Spain under the rule of Franco. Cria Cuervos is a look at a family primarily from the point of view of a ten year old girl, Ana, portrayed by Ana Torrent.

Avenging the early death of her mother which she attributes to her philandering father, Ana seeks revenge by poisoning her father. That the poison turns out to be some very old baking soda is of no matter, Ana thinks herself responsible for what was in reality a sudden heart attack. Ana sees herself at odds with her well-meaning aunt who has taken the responsibility of raising Ana and her sisters.

While the film shifts from past to present and back, Saura does shows the past from Ana’s point of view. At times we see Ana as a witness to past event, invisible to others. With the death of her mother, Ana contemplates her own mortality, and in one scene envisions herself falling from the top of a building. Death is even a part of childhood games that the sisters play, such as a game of hide and seek. Ana periodically has visions of her mother, particularly at night. Ana finds a bit of solace listening to a pop song about love and loss.

Ana Torrent, who plays the character of Ana, first gained international notice as a seven year old in the film Spirit of the Beehive. For those who have not seen this film, it is a look both at Spain during the time of the revolution during the Thirties, and also is about how the 1931 version of Frankenstein becomes frighteningly real for a young girl. Ana’s mother is portrayed by Saura’s then partner, Geraldine Chaplin, daughter of Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin also portrays the grown up Ana looking back at her life. Torrent made the transition to adult roles, primarily in Spanish films, but will be seen widely in the upcoming The Other Bolyen Girl starring two other former child actresses, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson.

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