Cultural event 2
Spanish II
Spanish Film: El Lobo
The Spanish move El Lobo in English is called The Wolf. The movie is based on a true
story about Mikel Lejarza, an agent of the Spanish intelligence service. In the 70’s, during
the last stages of Franco’s dictatorship, Txema, a basque construction worker, is arrested
because of his connection to some terrorists who have just committed a murder. The secret
service see in him an ideal candidate to infiltrate the terrorist band ETA and become a
mole, so they try to offer him a deal if he will do so. At first he’s not too interested, but his
financial problems (probably caused by the secret service itself) finally force him to take
their money and accept the mission.
He adopts the undercover name of “Lobo” (Wolf) and becomes an active member of the
band, making all the right connections until he reaches the top and acquires the trust of its
leaders. In the process, he discovers that the group has deep internal divisions between
those who want to abandon the armed fight and become just a political party, and those
who want to keep the terrorist activity until they can proclaim the independence of the
Basque country. These divisions and power struggles are often resolved bloodily. After the
band carries out their most daring and shocking crime yet, killing the prime minister