Donkeyote

The protagonist Donkeyote is a sprightly 73-year-old spaniard who has the felicitous idea of setting off for the United States on foot with his donkey Gorrión, to commemorate the forced march imposed on native Americans, the trail of tears: the film is the canvas on which this idea unfolds. director Chico Pereira brings the old adage about the importance of the journey itself over the final destination to the big screen,with Manolo’s adventures in Andalusia in preparation of his long-awaited pilgrimage to America becoming the pilgrimage itself; a real endeavour given the far from perfect physical health of the protagonist, who travels between Seville and Algeciras with a donkey. And donkeys, as we all know, can be rather stubborn, although human beings turn outto be the greatest obstacle to the journey. The long shots of Donkeyote can’t help but evoke the classic westerns filmed in nearby Almería, a sort of point of redemption in the wake of the failure to reach the initial objective: Manolo conquers the wild west right now. (Roberto Oggiano)