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Entrelobos Posted by on May 26, 2011 in Spanish Culture

“Pocas cosas he aprendido de los hombres…”

(Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja)

Todos estaremos de acuerdo en que una de las principales funciones del cine es entretener. Pero si además de conseguir hacernos pasar un rato agradable nos hace reflexionar, es algo muy de agradecer hoy día.

Nunca fui muy amante del cine español, supongo que porque lo consideraba demasiado limitado, pero poco a poco me voy reconciliando con él. Cada vez hay más directores, nuevas visiones y perspectivas en nuestra producción nacional. Hoy quiero hablaros de la última obra del director Gerardo Olivares, que vi hace pocos días con gran placer, “Entrelobos”.  La protagonizan un niño,  Manuel Camacho, y un joven, Juan José Ballesta, y los acompañan actores de la talla de Sancho Gracia.

Basada en la vida real de Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja, pastor nacido en Córdoba en 1946, la película nos narra cómo de niño fue vendido a un pastor del lugar para cuidar su rebaño. Marcos tenía siete años cuando lo dejaron en la sierra junto a Atanasio, anciano cabrero, y tras la muerte de este pasó doce años de su vida sin volver a tener contacto con otro humano. Siempre hemos considerado al lobo un animal peligroso, fiero, y sin embargo para Marcos fueron su única familia durante aquellos años, y a quienes extraña todavía. Incluso hoy día confiesa no estar adaptado a la sociedad. Ver a este niño convivir con lobos, águilas, búhos reales y un inteligente hurón nos obliga a pensar si quizá al dar la espalda a la naturaleza no estaremos equivocándonos demasiado.

Quizá la película podía explotar más el lado dramático de la historia, como algunos críticos dicen. Yo no lo creo. Mayor presencia humana no habría mejorado la trama. Marcos se integró en la naturaleza, fue como él mismo afirmaba “el rey del valle”, así que en la película sobran las palabras. Y no hacen falta, ya que tú como espectador percibes multitud de sensaciones. La belleza de Sierra Morena, su flora y fauna son un personaje más. Si te gusta la naturaleza, si amas los animales, no dejes de ver esta cinta.  ¡Y por supuesto, no dejes de compartir con nosotros tu impresión sobre ella!

“Few things I have learned from men… “

We can all agree that one of the main functions of cinema is to entertain. However, if it also makes us think in addition to providing us with a good time, that is something to be grateful for these days.

I have never been a Spanish cinema lover, I suppose because I considered it too limited, but little by little I am being reconciled with it. There are more and more directors, new visions and perspectives in our national production. Today I want to talk about director Gerardo Olivares’ last work, which I watched a few days ago with great pleasure, “Entrelobos”. The main characters are a child, Manuel Camacho, and a young man, Juan Jose Ballesta, accompanied by actors of great stature such as Sancho Gracia.

Based on the life of Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja, a shepherd born in Cordova in 1946, the movie tell the story of how he was sold as a child to a local shepherd to graze his herd. Marcos was seven years old when they left in the mountain with Atanasio, an elderly goatherd, and after the old man’s death he spent twelve years of his life without having any contact with another human being. We have always considered the wolf a dangerous, fierce animal, but for Marcos wolves were his only family during those years, and whom he still misses badly. Even nowadays he confesses not to be adapted to society. To see this child coexist with wolves, eagles, royal owls, and a cunning ferret makes us think that maybe we are too wrong on having turned our back to nature.

Maybe the movie could exploit more the dramatic side of the story, as some critics say. I do not think so. More human presence would not have improved the plot. Marcos integrated with nature, he called himself “the king of the valley”, so in the movie there is no need for words. And they are not needed because you the spectator perceive a multitude of sensations. The beauty of Sierra Morena, its flora and fauna are also characters. If you like nature, if you love animals, make sure you watch this film. And obviously, make sure you share your comments with us!

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About the Author: Magda

Hi all! I’m Magda, a Spanish native speaker writing the culture posts in the Transparent Language Spanish blog. I have a Bachelor’s in English Philology and a Master’s in Linguistics and Literature from the University of Granada, in Spain. I have also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and then worked as an English teacher in several schools and academies for several years. Last year was my first at university level. In addition, I work as a private tutor, teaching English and Spanish as a foreign language to students and adults. In my free time, I’m an avid reader and writer, editing and collaborating in several literary blogs. I have published my first poetry book recently. And last but not least, I love photography!


Comments:

  1. Neill:

    Hi Magda,

    I have a question relating to the use of “ser” in the preterit tense vs the imperfect tense. The phrase in question is:

    “Nunca fui muy amante del cine español,”

    One of the “rules” that I learned for preterit vs imperfect is that the imperfect is used for emotional states. Is being fond of something not an emotional state?

    On the flip side of the coin, I learned that the preterit is used for actions, and for things that happened a quantifiable number of times or amount of time. Being fond of something isn’t an action, and the amount of time isn’t really quantifiable.

    So why is the imperfect incorrect in this case?

    Thanks!

    PS – I love this blog. It is at just the right level between being too easy and impossibly difficult for intermediate students.

    • David Carmona:

      @Neill Hi Neill,
      To answer your first question, the verb “ser” is used to describe traits of character or personality.

      As to the choice of tense, the expression “nunca fui…” refers to a metaphorical “past life” that is already finished. If you still feel the same way, then you use the present perfect: “nunca he sido…”

  2. Neill:

    So if one were to write:

    “Nunca era muy amante del cine español”

    How would a Spanish speaker interpret that compared to the preterite and past-perfect versions?

  3. Henny Houston (Ms):

    Hi David,
    that was very helpful for me and I love the story, hope to be able to see the movie.]
    muchas gracias

  4. David Carmona:

    @Neill:

    “Nunca” in this construction implies that the time period is over, therefore it requires a perfect tense.

    You may still use the imperfect to say “Back then I wasn’t…”, but then you can’t use “nunca”. Therefore:

    -Nunca fui/he sido amante del cine español.
    -No era amante del cine español.

  5. Neill:

    Thank you David, that’s very helpful. I’ll have to remember not to try to use “nunca” and the imperfect tense together.

  6. Andreas:

    ¡Hola Magda!
    Si tengo la posibilidad, la veré sin falta. Suena precioso.
    Andreas

  7. Magda:

    ¡Estupendo Andreas!
    Ya nos contarás qué te pareció.

  8. Magda:

    @Sorry Neill!
    David was faster answering, but you were on the best hands.

  9. Jess – a beginner learning spanish slowly:

    I have heard many good comments about Entrelobos, I would like to see that, I am currently learning Spanish, your website is a great place for me to read texts in Spanish, they are very good, I will share the link on Facebook with my classmates, thanks