El Lobo (2004)

Director:

Miguel Courtois

Writer:

Antonio Onetti (writer)

Release Date:

5 November 2004 (Spain)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

Based on a true story. In the 70's, during the last stages of Franco's dictatorship, Txema, a basque construction worker...

Awards:

2 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Eduardo Noriega	...	Txema
José Coronado	...	Ricardo
Mélanie Doutey	...	Amaia
Silvia Abascal	...	Begoña
Santiago Ramos	...	Pantxo
Patrick Bruel	...	Nelson
Jorge Sanz	...	Asier
Manuel Zarzo	...	Matías
Fernando Cayo	...	Txino
Juan Fernández	...	Comandante Palacios
Roger Pera	...	Mediometro
José Luis García Pérez	...	Mejía (as José Luis García-Pérez)
Chema Muñoz	...	Arrieta
Antonio Ferrera	...	Reto
Juan Polanco	...	Gordo
Pau Cólera	...	Arteaga
Jacobo Dicenta	...	Napia
Joserra Buruaga	...	Joserra
Saturnino García	...	Jubilado
Javier Tolosa	...	Padre Zunzunegui
Héctor Colomé	...	General
Cristina Perales	...	Soto
Antonio Castro	...	Contreras
Antonio Onetti	...	Sargento
Alex O'Dogherty	...	Cabo policía
Julio Vélez	...	Guardia civil frontera
Antonio Cifo	...	Guardia civil aeropuerto
César Solar	...	Policia armada
Juan Matute	...	Alférez
Pedro Ocaña	...	Municipal
Carmen Rossi	...	Esposa jubilado
Ramon Camín	...	Camarero retiro
Amanda Marugán	...	Montse
Nuria Pasanau	...	Periodista
Melchor Miralles	...	Taxista
José Hervás	...	Javier
David Recuero	...	Iñaki 2 años
Juanjo Rodríguez	...	Narciso
Arantxa Iglesias	...	Esposa Narciso
Ana Calderón	...	Hija Narciso
Daniel Sánchez	...	Iñaki 4 años
Juan Hurtado	...	Policía armada
Julia Miralles	...	Vendedora de periódicos 1
Claudia Torrente	...	Vendedora de periódicos 2
Elena Muñoz	...	Gitana
Jacobo Miralles	...	Limpiabotas

Directed by
Miguel Courtois

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Antonio Onetti		writer

Produced by
Julio Fernández	....	executive producer
Melchor Miralles	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Francesc Gener

Cinematography by
Néstor Calvo

Film Editing by
Guillermo S. Maldonado		(as Guillermo Maldonado)

Casting by
Antonio Onetti
Américo Piñeiro

Production Design by
Miguel Torrente

Art Direction by
Luis Vallés

Costume Design by
Pedro Moreno
Victoria Velázquez

Makeup Department
Cecilia Escot	....	assistant makeup artist
Paquita Núñez	....	hair stylist
José Antonio Sánchez	....	makeup artist
Rosa Tous	....	assistant hair stylist

Production Management
Teresa Gefaell	....	production manager
Philippe Lenfant	....	production manager: France
Roberto Padilla	....	unit manager
Jesús L. Pérez Villar	....	post-production supervisor (as Jesús Pérez Villar)
Eva Taboada	....	production manager
Cristina Zumárraga	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Manuel L. Cañizares	....	first assistant director (as Manuel Cañizares)
Marian González	....	assistant director
Jesús Liedo	....	second assistant director
Juan José López Angosse	....	second assistant director
Carmen Torres	....	third assistant director
Falele Ygueravide	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Purificación Adorna	....	assistant decorator
Leo Báez	....	construction manager
Manuel Casla	....	carpenter
Blas Díaz	....	carpenter
Francisco Díaz	....	carpenter
Miguel Ángel Gómez	....	painter
Beatriz González	....	assistant decorator
Leandro Muslera	....	property master
Pablo Naveda	....	props
Juan Antonio Ramos	....	carpenter
Alberto Risco	....	painter
Francisco Sánchez	....	property master

Sound Department
Manuel Carrión	....	foley artist
Manuel Carrión	....	sound effects
Jaime Climent	....	sound assistant
Manuel Cora	....	sound mixer
Tomás Erice	....	boom operator
Tomás Erice	....	sound mixer
Jaime Fernández	....	sound mixer
Iván Marín	....	sound recordist
James Muñoz	....	sound editor
Miguel Suárez	....	dialogue editor
Ricardo Viñas	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby

Special Effects by
Óscar Abades	....	special effects
Reyes Abades	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Jesús Pascual	....	digital effects artist
Jesús Pascual	....	visual effects supervisor
Jorge Ramal	....	digital effects artist

Stunts
Ignacio Carreño	....	stunt coordinator
Diego Herberg	....	stunts
Emilio Meilán	....	stunts
Eduardo Moratilla	....	stunts
Juanjo Rodríguez	....	stunts
César Solar	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Juan Aragonés	....	assistant camera
Enrique Bello	....	grip
Roberto Cuadrado	....	electrician
José Ramón Delgado	....	assistant camera
Sergio Delgado	....	assistant camera
Roberto de Miguel	....	assistant camera
Gonzalo Domingo-Aldama	....	additional assistant camera
Olivier Gallois	....	camera operator
Ramón García	....	electrician
Ángel Gómez	....	key grip
Juan Leyva	....	assistant camera (as Juan Leiva)
Javier Llanos	....	electrician
Raúl Lobo	....	electrician
Raúl Manchado	....	additional assistant camera
Idoia Mazizior	....	additional assistant camera
Francisco Javier Merino	....	electrician (as F. Javier Merino)
Javier Navasques	....	video assist operator
José Manuel Reboul	....	grip
Francisco Sánchez Polo	....	assistant camera
Fernando Sancho	....	still photographer
Arcadio Sequeira	....	gaffer
Alfonso Torralbo	....	electrician
Manuel Velasco	....	camera operator: second camera
Ángel Yebra	....	camera operator: second unit

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ana Bernal	....	assistant wardrobe
Ariadna Papiò	....	assistant wardrobe
Dolores Plaza	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Antonio Álvarez	....	color timer
Esperanza González	....	negative cutter
José Manuel Jiménez	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Joan Cayuela	....	music producer
Francesc Gener	....	music producer
Francesc Gener	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Alberto Álvarez	....	production assistant
José Ramón Astaburuga	....	dialogue coach
Julia Calurano	....	publicist
Xavier Camprecios	....	additional production assistant
Gonzalo Cañellas	....	production assistant
Paco Elías	....	assistant accountant
María Gil	....	production assistant
Elena Gil Nagel	....	script supervisor
Michele Lazzarotto	....	production assistant: France
Nicolás Lecocq	....	controller
Álvaro Le Pera	....	additional production assistant
Alberto Marini	....	story editor
Antonio Mendoza	....	accountant
Manuel Monzón Fueyo	....	development executive
Helena Moreno Núñez	....	development executive
Elena Muñoz	....	production assistant
Jordi Punsola	....	additional production assistant
Sara Ramirez	....	production coordinator
Martin Samper	....	making-of crew coordinator
Elena Serra	....	development executive

Production Companies

• Castelao Producciones
• Mundo Ficción

Distributors

• Artédis (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• CDI Films (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Filmax (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• DistriMax
• Dogwoof Pictures (2005) (UK) (all media)
• Filmax Home Video (2005) (Spain) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cornejo  wardrobe
• EPC  camera equipment
• Filmigranas  sound editing studio
• Fotofilm Madrid  film lab

Also Known As:

Wolf (International: English title)
El Lobo (France) [fr]
Kurt (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and a brief scene of graphic sexual content.

Runtime:

125 min | Argentina:123 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | 134 min (extended version)

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Ireland:15A | USA:R | Spain:18 | Brazil:14 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Castelao Producciones

Goofs:

Anachronisms: On chapter 5 of the DVD, almost at minute 19 of the film, a caption says it's 1973. There's a wedding and while Amaia sings (00:20:33) we can see a cymbal in the background, whose brand is Sabian. This brand was founded in Canada in 1981.

Quotes:

Nelson: You can use all of your bullets except for this one. This one... is for Lobo.

Movie Connections:

References Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972)

Soundtrack:

Song of the French Partisan (La complainte du partisan)

a very good Spanish thriller

"El Lobo" tells the real story of a government agent that during the 70s (during the time when Franco is dying and a time of change is coming in Spain) infiltrates the ETA (a separatist terrorist organization). It's a very dangerous mission and this film succeeds in portraying the tension and perplexity of the agent (codename Lobo - wolf in English) and the doubts that the new times to come arouse inside the ETA and in Spain.

This is a fast-paced thriller that unlike its American counterparts doesn't tell us who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. We see the idealism in ETA militants that lead them to indiscriminate killing and the opportunism of the government circles. Instead of giving us a ready-made solution the film poses questions that linger in our mind. For instance: with the coming of democracy wouldn't it be better to give up armed struggle and become an organized party? This generates conflicts inside ETAs leading circles and the agent Lobo is inside this turmoil.

Today with the crescent European integration these questions are still valid. Is it necessary to fight for old ideals that have lost its reason of being or wouldn't it be better to adapt to the new times where integration is the password? In a few sketches, the agent Lobo, the ETA militants, the government officials, the mood in Spain, are drawn in a realistic way and give us a feeling of real persons and events.

Rent this film. "El Lobo" is very intense and sometimes desperate (like the 70s in Spain). New times are coming. What shall we do? What will happen?