Donkeyote (2017)

Directed by: Chico Pereira | 85 minutes | documentary, family, western | Starring: Paca Molera Pereira, Mamen Gómez Heredia, Manuel Molera Aparicio

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Cervantes wrote his classic novel ‘The Ingenious Nobleman Don Quixote of La Mancha’, one of the oldest written novels in a modern European language, which tells of the comic travel adventures of an old nobleman who believes that he is a knight-errant. This Don Quixote is an idealist, a foolish hero who more or less makes fun of himself with his good intentions but impractical acts. During his trek, he is accompanied by his servant Sancho Panza, a simple peasant who, despite his illiteracy, is smart enough to realize that his master is not very wise. Nevertheless, he faithfully follows him, hoping for a fat reward when they reach their final destination. Both characters symbolize the dream versus reality. Again and again the delusions of Don Quixote clash with the facts of Sancho Panza; the mind wills, but the body cannot; the mind has beautiful ideas, but nature will not be fooled. The facts always seem to win.

Manolo, 73, is a contemporary Don Quixote. The elderly Spaniard – uncle of filmmaker Chico Pereira – spends his days walking through the beautiful Andalusian landscape, accompanied by his faithful companions: sheepdog Zafrana and donkey Gorrión. His ultimate goal is to walk the Trail of Tears in the United States. The Cherokee Indians walked this route in 1838, when they were driven from east to west. An estimated 4,000 Cherokee were killed in the journey. Manolo really wants to walk this route, but with Zafrana and Gorrión. And that turns out to be an almost impregnable fortress logistically. In various ways, Manolo’s plans are thwarted by the bureaucracy and patronage of the modern age. The travel agency employee, whom Manolo wants to inquire with, just barely laughs at him, his doctor is concerned about his physical health and demands that he at least carry a GPS tracker with him during his hikes and the vet falls about Gorrión not being chipped. Manolo has allowed some modernity into his life – such a mobile phone can be quite handy on the road, and in the context of crowdfunding he is quite willing to shoot a YouTube video, if it could earn him money with which he can ship can finance his beloved donkey – but the old man has no need for anything else.

Pereira filmed his documentary ‘Donkeyote’ (2017) as a road movie in the arid drought of the southernmost part of Spain. A central role is played by the donkey Gorrión, from whose point of view we sometimes literally look at the world. Because where Manolo can be seen as a contemporary version of Don Quixote, Gorrión symbolizes Sancho Panza. He meekly follows his owner, but this animal is not stupid. Stubborn indeed, we see that when he refuses to cross a bridge, while Manolo twists and turns to get the animal to take the step. Disarming are the moments when man and animal show their affection for each other; Manolo shouting affectionate words (‘Good boy, beautiful boy’), Gorrión ‘giving cups’ to his owner. Then the dog Zafrana has it a bit harder, although she too – as a watchman – is indispensable for Manolo. And we see here again: animals don’t judge you, they don’t laugh at you, they stay loyal to you and support you through thick and thin. They give unconditional love, well, get over that with people. Despite all the scorn and rejection, Manolo persists and clings to his dream. If his life can indeed be mirrored to that of Don Quixote, then one day everyone will ‘just’ play along with him. That we all, like him, become dreamers with a lust for life, who need nothing but purpose in our lives and a faithful, taciturn companion.