General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20264 min read

The Wolf (2004 film)

The Wolf (original title El lobo) is a 2004 Spanish political thriller directed by Miguel Courtois, based on the true story of Mikel Lejarza, the Spanish secret agent codenamed "El Lobo" (The Wolf) who infiltrated the Basque separatist group ETA in the last years of the Franco dictatorship.¹ The film stars Eduardo Noriega as Txema, an apolitical Basque construction worker recruited by an agent of Spain's secret police to become a mole inside ETA, and it was a commercial success in Spain, grossing over $10 million at the Spanish box office.²^•³

Key fact	Detail
Original title	El lobo; international title The Wolf¹
Director / writer	Miguel Courtois; screenplay by Antonio Onetti¹
Historical basis	Mikel Lejarza, a Spanish secret agent who infiltrated ETA between 1973 and 1975, contributing to the fall of about 150 collaborators, roughly one quarter of the organization's activists¹
Release	Spain 5 November 2004; France 26 April 2006¹
Lead cast	Eduardo Noriega (Txema), José Coronado (Ricardo), Mélanie Doutey (Amaia), Silvia Abascal (Begoña), Santiago Ramos (Pantxo), Patrick Bruel (Nelson), Jorge Sanz (Asier)²
Spanish box office	Over $10 million³
Awards	Two Goya Awards (best editing and special effects) from five nominations⁴

Spoilers

Plot and historical basis

The story is set in the 1970s, during the last stages of Franco's dictatorship. Txema, a Basque construction worker, is arrested because of his connection to terrorists who have just committed a murder. The secret service sees him as an ideal candidate to infiltrate ETA and offers him a deal: become a mole inside the organization.² Operating under the codename El Lobo, he rises to a position of power within the group while maintaining his double-agent connections, but he becomes increasingly conflicted and begins to sympathize with the separatists' beliefs.⁵

The film is inspired by the life of Mikel Lejarza, the Spanish secret agent who infiltrated ETA between 1973 and 1975 and contributed to the fall of about 150 collaborators, one quarter of the organization's terrorist activists, including members of its special commands and its leadership.¹^•⁴ The Cineuropa synopsis adds a political dimension the film explores: at the same time, Franco needed the terrorist organization, whose actions served as a justification for the most conservative arm of the regime.¹

The real Lobo's fate was harsh. When ETA discovered him, the group condemned him to death and plastered the Basque Country with posters carrying his photograph under the legend "Se busca" (Wanted). According to the production's own account, he was repudiated by his own family, was eventually forced to change his identity and his face, and disappeared without leaving a trace.⁴^•⁶

Production and release

The film was produced by Melchor Miralles and Julio Fernández through Castelao Producciones with Telecinco Cinema, Canal+ España, Telecinco, and Mundo Ficción, and was distributed by Filmax in Spain and Artédis in France.¹ Néstor Calvo was the cinematographer, Guillermo Maldonado the editor, and Francesc Gener the composer.¹ The soundtrack makes prominent use of period rock, including Marc Bolan's "20th Century Boy" and Patti Smith's version of "Land of a Thousand Dances".⁷

It opened in Spain on 5 November 2004 and reached French theaters on 26 April 2006.¹ Reported runtimes differ by source: Cineuropa lists 122 minutes, FilmAffinity 123, JustWatch and eCartelera 125, and the Filmax production page 130.¹^•⁴^•²^•⁶ In the United States the film carries an R rating and streams free with ads on Plex Player and Runtime.²

Reception

The film performed strongly with Spanish audiences. Screen International's Fionnuala Halligan called it "a cracking period political thriller" and compared it to Costa-Gavras's Z and Missing, noting that it pulled off over $10 million at the Spanish box office and was positioned on Filmax's Cannes slate for international sales, though she judged its appeal likely to stop at arthouse audiences.³ Reviewing the 2006 British release for The Guardian, Mark Kermode wrote that Eduardo Noriega dominates the film and noted the executive producer Melchor Miralles's description of its balance of fact and action as "more American than Spanish", with political commentary pepped up by slow-motion walks and street-side shoot-outs.⁸

At the Goya Awards, Spain's principal film honors, the film won for best editing and special effects from five nominations.⁴ Audience scores have remained favorable: Rotten Tomatoes reports an 81% Popcornmeter from more than 1,000 ratings with no professional reviews counted, JustWatch shows 87% from 176 ratings, and IMDb lists 6.9/10.⁵^•²

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026