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DON'T MISS NAVARRE . Much More than the Running of the Bulls

King, Welles, Audrey Hepburn and Pierce Brosnan, among others, have succumbed to the charms of Navarre ? its

filmotech.com. 12/05/2011. Themes

If John Ford had seen Navarre, he would have found the grass really was greener. And, although the great director was not among those fortunate enough to shoot in these idyllic places, the lands of Navarre have, in fact, been explored by filmmakers from half the globe. Did you know, for example, that Orson Welles himself watched the bull-run? Or that a cinematic General Patton sheltered his troops in the very same forest where Sean Connery camped out, dressed as Robin Hood? Don't let Ford?s misfortune happen to you: don't miss Navarre and its spectacular cinematic locations.

Its varied and inviting landscapes, its monuments and architectural heritage, noble people, and the most famous bullfighting festival in the world are the ingredients which make Navarre such an idyllic, charismatic place, and so attractive for the Seventh Art. Valleys, meadows, streets and squares, not to mention taverns and bars have been immortalized in an infinite number of film productions, including both art house films and exciting adventure stories. Spanish directors like Julio Medem, Pedro Olea, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón and, above all, Montxo Armendáriz, and international ones like Orson Welles, Ken Hughes and Emilio Estévez have filmed outstanding works here, which have not gone unnoticed by the public. If you haven't seen this cinematic side of Navarre, take our film tour!

The Way in Pamplona

We start our journey in the capital, Pamplona, known as Iruña in Euskera, the Basque native language. Although many people think of Pamplona uniquely in terms of San Fermín, the festival with the daring running of the bulls, and the overwhelming high spirits of the crowd watching the ?Chupinazo? (symbolic rocket set off to open the festival), Pamplona is also a historic, tranquil city, and at the same time, modern and hospitable. Traversed by the ?Camino de Santiago? or Way of St. James, its stone-paved streets, Romanesque churches, and traditional bars serving ?pintxos? (bar snacks similar to tapas) have inspired great artists and naturally filmmakers too. Two of the first films to take advantage of this visual feast were Zalacaín el Aventurero (1928), an adaptation of the novel by Pío Baroja, and Currito de la Cruz (Currito of the Cross) (1925), by Alejandro Pérez Lugín.

 
However, we can?t really talk about Pamplona without a closer look at the famous festival of its patron saint known as ?los Sanfermines?, the fiestas of San Fermín. As early as 1913 the images of the running of the bulls could be seen in cinemas in half the world, astonishing audiences with these ?barbaric?, boisterous Spanish customs. However, as well as reports and articles for film and television news programmes, on the other side of the Atlantic the festivities began to

arouse interest as a backdrop for all kinds of stories. Oddly enough, while Henry King set the film The Sun Also Rises

Chimes at Midnight in Larraun

(Fiesta) (based on Hemingway's book) there, stars Ava Gardner and Tyrone Power never set foot in Pamplona at all; the crew took a few cover shots of the bull-runs and all the rest was recreated in Mexico.

Spanish directors, on the other hand, weren't afraid of the bulls, and some Spanish films portraying the San Fermín festival are Tú y Yo Somos Tres by Rafael Gil (1962), Carnaval de Ladrones (The Caper of the

Filming No Tengas Miedo in Pamplona

Golden Bulls) by Russell Rouse (in which the protagonists take advantage of the chaos to rob a bank), Un Rincón para Querernos (a couple decide to get married there), Cita en Navarra, and above all La Trastienda (Back of the Store) by Jorge Grau, a film which caused great controversy on its release.

Genius Orson Welles, a great fan of this fiesta and everything else concerning Hispanic culture, had his Don Quixote (Francisco Reguiro, no less) and Sancho Panza walk down the streets of Pamplona dodging between ?gigantes y cabezudos? - giant festival figures traditional in the region - in his particular version of Cervantes' classic. His fondness for the area was such that he returned a few years later with Jeanne Moreau to shoot several scenes of Chimes at Midnight in Lekumberri, a picturesque town in the middle of the Larraun Valley. He also filmed on the slope of the Sierra de Aralar mountain range, in a beautiful rustic spot boasting year-round greenery, and in a string of villages and hamlets featuring local architecture. Visionarios (Visionaires) (2012), by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, also filmed on the plains of this valley, tells the true story of a Navarre village in which, during the Second Republic, the image of the Virgin appeared, weeping, and predicted the imminent outbreak of the Civil War.

Robin and Marian in the Sierra de Urbasa

Coming back to Pamplona, the appeal of the running of the bulls has attracted other foreign filmmakers, such as Leni Riefenstahl, Ronald Colman, Stephen Boyd, and even the eccentric Spike Lee, who was seen doing takes for his commercials during the bull-running, a traditional red kerchief round his neck. Estafeta Street and the corner of the Telefónica building can also be seen in sequences of Luna de Verano de Pedro Lazaga (1958), El

Tasio in Urbasa

Momento de la Verdad (The Moment of Truth) (Francesco Rosi, 1965) and some far more recent American productions like City Slickers (Ron Underwood, 1991) featuring a wild Hollywood-style bull-run, The Football Factory (Keith Boak, 2001) and Americano (Kevin Noland, 2003), following the journey of an American from the Pamplona festival to the Way of St. James.

One of the latest films to take in this city also follows the ?Camino de Santiago,? The Way, by Emilio Estevez. Here he directs his father Martin Sheen on his journey through Roncesvalles, Irache, Enate and of course Pamplona, in particular the ?plaza del Castillo?, nerve centre of the city, which is referred to as the locals' "cuarto de estar" or living room.

The city also attracted the attention of French filmmakers Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu, who moved their apocalyptic film Les Derniers Jours du Monde (Happy End) to Iruña and captured not only the critical moment of the "chupinazo" firework but also other places in the city like the paseo de Ronda, the San Lorenzo and Carmen streets, the bar La Cepa, the Ciudadela - a Renaissance fortification - and the La Taconera gardens.

Bajo las Estrellas (Under the Stars) in Estella

Some who never escaped from Pamplona's spell were its native filmmakers, such as Ana Díez, who set her Ander eta Yul and Algunas Chicas Doblan las Piernas cuando Hablan there, and of course, Montxo Armendaríz, paragon of Navarre cinema, who has just brought out No Tengas Miedo, filmed entirely in his home town. 
 
For his first feature film, Tasio, the story of a charcoal burner and woodcutter and a tribute to the old trades of his native land, Armendáriz chose rural settings near the Sierra de Urbasa and Estella. Urbasa is actually one of the most popular forests for film shoots thanks to its tree-lined pathways, dry valleys, chasms, and ravines, and

Filming Obaba in the Roncal Valley

has been the setting for blockbusters like Patton, The Battle of the Bulge and the classic Cromwell, all of which used the mountain range to great effect in several war scenes. Robin and Marian, a beautiful film by Richard Lester starring Audrey Hepburn and Sean Connery, was also shot in Urbasa, and in Pamplona and Artajona, an impressive 12th century walled village which made a perfect medieval city.

While visiting this area we mustn't forget Estella, halfway between Pamplona and Logroño; a small Romanesque town which grew around the ?Camino de Santiago? and graces the shores of the river Ega. Estella has palaces, manors, churches, convents, and beautiful bridges imbued with all the charm of the Middle Ages. Several classic Spanish films have been shot in its streets, ranging from Zalacaín el Aventurero (1928) to one of the emblematic films of new Navarre cinema: Bajo las Estrellas (Under the Stars) (2005), by Félix Viscarret. In this sort of contemporary Western, the famous monuments of Estella give way to minor roads, forgotten corners and abandoned trailers used by rootless but very Navarrese characters. Seen through Viscarret's eyes, Navarre turns into something like Arizona. 

Cows in the Baztan area

Another must for nature lovers is the Irati forest, the biggest wood in Navarre and one of the greatest concentrations of birches and beeches in Europe, rivalled only by the Black Forest in Germany. Amid its labyrinth of tall, slim trees, the hatreds and passions of José Luis Borau's controversial film Furtivos (Poachers) (1975) are played out. Close by lies Otxagabía, a pretty village with stone-flagged streets and a medieval bridge, which provided the perfect setting for Armendáriz's film Secretos del Corazón (Secrets of the Heart) (1996). The Navarrese director came back to this location years later when attempting to capture the stories of Bernardo Atxaga on film in Obaba (2005), which also displays corners of Isaba, set in the majestic Roncal Valley.

If we follow the French border closely, we come across the villages of Villanueva del Arce and Lusarreta, located in the Arce Valley, which appear in Armendáriz's Silencio Roto (Broken Silence) (2001), a dramatic story about the ?Maquis?, resistance fighters under Franco's regime who sought refuge in the forests of the Pyrenees during the post-war era.

A little further north and we reach the Baztán, a green valley strongly influenced by neighbouring Cantabria, with dozens of hamlets dotted over an endless expanse of meadows where livestock graze, and which John Ford would have loved. Julio Medem could find no greener grass for his debut as a director with the film Vacas (Cows) (1991), a rural drama seen through the eyes of the cattle. The nearby nature reserve, Señorío de Bertiz, was another idyllic enclave chosen to illustrate this tale of two families feuding over four generations. Medem returned to Navarre to make Tierra (Earth) (1995), shot this time in Funes, in the south of Navarre on the border with the Region of La Rioja.

007 in the Bardenas Reales Desert

In Vera de Bidasoa, located in what is known as the ?comarca de las Cinco Villas? or ?region of the five towns,? completely surrounded by mountains, Pablo Malo's directing debut Frío Sol de Invierno (2004) was filmed; and the area is known for its traditional festivals and the house of illustrious writer Pío Baroja.

Further to the south, very near Tudela, lies the Las Bárdenas Reales nature reserve, which comes second only to Pamplona as the most popular filming location in Navarre. This semi-arid landscape covering 42,500 hectares has been declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO due to its rugged beauty. A soil of clay, gypsum and eroded sandstone has been moulded into strange forms resembling a lunar landscape, dotted with precipices, plateaus and hills. The arid, moonlike scenery has been used as a location for films as different as the Spanish films Airbag and Acción Mutante, the American movie The Pride and the Passion, and the Bond film The World is Not Enough. Incidentally, for the latter, one of the natural chimneys of the "Las Cortinas" hills became a bunker in Kazakhstan for a few days before being blown up in a fictitious nuclear explosion.

On our return journey we pass back through Larraun, Lekumberri and Lesaka, the towns which witnessed the filming of Orson Welles' masterpiece, Chimes at Midnight. ?The days that we have seen?, intones Shallow; and what could have been the spirited old man Falstaff's reply: ?and those which remain to be seen? ? in Navarre.

 

 

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