A DREAM
"The paths are rough.
The hillocks are covered with broom.
The air is motionless. How far away
the birds and the springs are!
It can only be
the end of the world, ahead."
Springtime, going to the mountain
Is it right here?
It won't get your backpack wet.
- That's fine.
- Do you want it cold?
It's fine.
Put this by it.
We could add a few oranges.
Is a three-litre bottle
going to be enough?
Wait, your canteen!
Give me a plastic bag so it
won't get your backpack all wet.
Your canteen!
The canteen also.
Hold on!
- Where can I put my things?
- Over here.
Yes, on the table.
You can fit more bottles like this.
Put whatever you need on the table.
- We have apples and oranges.
- Put the food here.
I can't throw away the flies!
They're everywhere!
- Have a nice journey!
- Bye!
...then he grabs it by the tail,
turns it around,
goes down the other side,
and it's done!
I like shearing... I like it!
Yeah, me too.
It's a bloody hard job.
But I like it!
Some of my friends use to
visit me on the way. I like it!
There's an old lady that lives there.
I haven't seen her. She could be dead.
Every year she'd tell us:
"Thank God you're coming through."
Look that grass.
When I come back,
I'm going to stay here.
It's a really nice place.
Yeah, that'd be fucking great!
Colom!
God damn it!
Come on, Valent, let's go!
Bastards!
They don't even follow God!
Would you mind helping us cross?
Just this stretch to go to Crespi.
Just this stretch to turn?
They'll listen to you, but not to us!
Yeah, all right.
Okay, let's go!
Our misfortune is that we
haven't much money.
What would you do with it?
I'd buy my dog an omelette in
the Vall del Bac!
I bet you've probably never
seen that before.
He had nothing to eat
when he was a kid,
but now he treats his dog
like a gentleman.
Coffee.
On a catalan table there will
always be a "porr" of wine.
Whether you eat cod or mushrooms,
ask for a "porr" of wine.
On a catalan table,
the "porr" is always there.
Don't drink it all at once!
What a guy.
Six and four, ten, fifteen,
eighteen, nineteen, twenty...
twenty one, twenty two...
This guy used to be a shepherd too,
we were from the same village.
We spent quite a few years together.
I was born in Vallfogona.
Vallfogona in Ripolls!
"I would like to marry"
"the daughter of a countryman,"
"with a good sack of money"...
That doesn't sound bad to me.
Money doesn't do anything,
but it helps you live.
He used to be a shepherd,
but now he is a baker!
What a bitch of a change!
These people have to understand
that this is my way of life.
If they tell me: "You can't go
into the mountains because..."
And that'll happen sooner or later.
Who knows, maybe not,
I mightjust drop dead suddenly!
It didn't happen to my uncle.
He died in the corral
when he was 101. No, wait, 102!
He was in pure agony
and they put him in bed,
but he'd never slept in a bed before!
He had never eaten at a table either!
He never even had a woman!
He didn't even use money.
He never spent a dime.
My uncle was a really strong man!
My feet can't stand espadrilles.
But I have to wear 'em
all the time!
A shepherd's life is the best.
Wearing good shoes
and a backpack all year long.
Just give me
one of those abandoned houses
without a radio or TV set...
Nothing but 5 or 6 women
and good food.
Now that would be great!
Like an elephant lost in the jungle,
nobody knows where you're at...
Not even the Treasury... Nobody!
That's my dream.
Today's not as hot
as it was yesterday.
God damn!
Yesterday was a bitch!
All the sheep's tongues
were hanging out...
He's such an idiot!
He's a worthless idiot!
Yeah, about as worthless
as the Virgin Mary!
Oh shit! They never go there!
Those fuckers!
There are electrical cables over there
that they're going to eat.
Over there! Over there!
Get over there!
Get back!
There!
What can you give me?
I'm out of soup.
- What do you got hot?
- Hot?
I can make some rice,
it'll take about ten minutes.
Is that alright with you, Alfonso?
Do want some rice?
Lt'll be ready by the time
you finish a salad.
Yeah, that's fine. I haven't
had rice in a while anyway.
You know it's got to boil
for like 5 hours in the pot,
just waiting for it to boil.
Then you have to drain it.
If no blood comes out, it's done.
But you can't let it cook
too long either.
Years ago, women used to poke it
and watch it carefully...
They still do now.
If you don't drain it...
No, to check and see
if they're cooked.
Yeah, but if you don't drain 'em,
they'll explode like
fuckin' terrorist bombs!
Like fuckin' bombs!
A good herd always moves, Mart.
Don't go shit scary.
I went through hell. You don't want
to suffer as much as I have.
As long as you have a heard,
you'll never be poor or rich,
but you'll have plenty of women!
You see? You won't be rich!
What is being rich?
Besides showing your little brother
one hell of a good time!
Things have changed.
Before, you could move the flock
whenever you wanted to.
I used to go at Bianya,
or Peralada,
wherever I wanted to go.
But not now.
You cannot move as you want!
Everything's all fucked up now!
"The shepherd and I live on love"...
"The shepherd and I live on love"...
I want one!
Come on, hurry up!
We don't want to get caught!
That drizzle is a gift to get up here!
The animals climb much better.
Valenti thinks I'm crazy,
but he's afraid of sleeping
outside like this.
But who's going to hurt me
in God's World?
I'm safer here than in any city.
The most I'll see out here
is a fox or a wild boar.
"Back at the big ranch"
"where I used to live"
"there was a little ranch girl"
"who, happily, said"...
"I'll make you a pair of trousers".
"How?"
"Like the ranchers use".
"How do they use them, compadre?"
"They start off with wool,"
"and finish with leather".
"Back at the big ranch"
"where I used to live"
"There was a little ranch girl"
"who, happily, said"...
Well, sheep, learn to cut
the grass like that.
That's what there is
at La Gran Jaa.
That's it.
Where the hell is the grass?
In 60 years this is the worst year
I've ever seen.
There's absolutely no grass to eat.
I knew there wasn't going to be much,
but this is really bad!
There's nothing!
- Are there any thorns, at least?
- Not very many.
We'd be lucky if there were!
I don't know about these.
If there are, that's it.
We're saved.
We don't have to respect
the private electric fences.
We pay communal taxes,
we pay for everywhere!
I pay 1.000 euros of communal taxes.
Well, godfather, here we are.
It took some work,
but we finally made it.
Summertime, at the mountain
At this rate, I wouldn't
recommend it to anyone!
Back then, things were
different. I'd like someone to do it,
but not at this rate.
Nobody can live like this.
The government
doesn't understand anything
because it always does
the same thing:
When it passes a law,
it's for all of Spain!
L'Empord is one world.
La Plana de Lleida is one world.
This is another world.
Pardines is another world.
Each sector is a world.
But they don't understand that.
They apply everything to one single
world, and it's not all one world!
They don't understand.
It's not the same to move sheep
in the mountains of Ogassa
or move them in I'Empord.
Here they must be kept one way,
and in Pardines another.
Each mountain has its own way.
Each mountain has its own slopes...
When God...
well, maybe not God, but
when nature made the mountains,
they weren't designed for cows.
They were made for sheep!
So what's going on
in the mountains?
I've never seen these thorns
here before,
but today we have thorns
thanks to the cows.
These paths through the mountains
are all dry because of the cows.
It's the cows that are fucking up
the mountains!
If they asked me what I thought,
first thing I'd do is outlaw
electrical lines in the mountains.
If they want fences,
they'd have to make them out wood.
But no electrical lines
in the mountains!
And I'd love to say that
to the Minister of Agriculture.
Why doesn't anybody do anything?
Because Ministers don't even know
what a mountain is anyway!
Then dad passed away,
mom passed away...
And I took charge of everything
and thought:
"Either you use machines or no..."
I had gotten married by then.
If you buy machines
you'll be more tied down.
If you like animals... You have
to choose one way or the other.
So I chose animals.
When I was ten,
we'd move the lambs
over there at night, secretly.
We'd put them on our shoulders
and cross through the mountains,
taking shortcuts,
so we wouldn't get caught
by the police.
We earned 100 pesetas,
so when we went
to the local festivals,
we'd have 1,000 pesetas
to spent on girls!
I've never felt tied down by work.
Time off? I don't think I've ever had
more than 2 days off in my life.
In my line of work,
everyday's a holiday!
What really sounds boring to me
is riding on a bus
full of old people
to go on a tour somewhere.
Not for me, hell no!
What I used to do is,
after a good dinner,
come down here
and play cards
with the shepherds.
We used to play cards every night!
Those were good times.
Autumn, back to the plain
- Did you finish shearing, Marti?
- I think so.
You'll have to start
over again now!
Get the car and start pushing!
- Why?
- Because they can't find the keys.
They found them.
Sleep! Sleep!
They found them.
Rumba, come here!
Stay there!
It would hardly move!
God, it hardly moved!
Did you take the hand-brake off?
I was stepping on the foot-brake!
I left it in neutral to load the sheep
and, on that slope,
when I stepped on the brake,
I was using the hand-brake...
This guy's incredible!
Get out, Rumba, get out!
We're going to count the sheep.
Hell! This time there's not as much
mud as there was last year!
Did it give birth, Joan?
They're nice, huh?
And 200 more...
- I only counted these.
- Goats and all?
Goats and all. Even the Billy goat.
With a 0.1% margin of error!
Plus the 250 that you already have...
Damn, what a shepherd!
He was at full force!
Two families live here,
but none live from farming!
Take care, you'll get hurt!
I've been over all these
cattle paths, Cristobal.
Even if it doesn't look like one,
this is a cattle path.
I've moved sheep
with two palms of snow.
Come here!
If you don't like it, fuck off!
If you don't like it,
don't get involved!
With the cows!
Feel my shirt, it's wet!
I heard you yelling!
Holy shit!
- What a life!
- You are leaving?
- I didn't break anything!
- You've behaved!
Just how you like it!
- I'll bust your chops!
- Do it, if you've got balls!
- Lf I do, I'll do it hard!
- And so will I!
Whoever strikes first,
strikes twice!
I have lost some cows up here!
What a misery!
I can hear
five or six little bells!
That's bad!
Lost cows are dead cows!
- Ok, listen to me.
- What's the matter?
- Here, a cowboy, and there...
- A shepherd!
He's a cow herder, you're a shepherd,
and I'm a shepherd too...
Of the Vall del Bac restaurant!
And the dog is the President.
What a big dog!
What should we give him for
supper? An omelette?
An omelette and bread.
All right, kid!
I'll see you for supper!
Take it easy.
I went to Balearic Islands. That's
were you did your military service.
I had such a great time in Mallorca.
No, I went to Ibiza.
- Pipa!
- What's the matter?
- How many eggs for the dog's omelette?
- Three eggs!
- You guys want to sleep in a bed?
- Yes.
This guy will sleep in a real bed.
I will sleep on the floor.
You'll sleep as always.
But listen.
The old dance-floor is a mess,
so you will sleep
on the kitchen ground.
Some salt for the dog's omelette?
The dog doesn't have
high blood pressure!
Mallorca...
and all those islands
used to be full of whorehouses!
They were full of whores.
Here as well,
we used to have whorehouses.
But now,
you will not find any
in the city centre.
Long ago Girona was full of them.
Nowadays it is full of hot spots
outside, on the roads.
What about those girls
that were by the highway
last spring?
Holy shit!
Going towards Valenti's farm,
there's one that looks like
the Virgin Mary herself!
Didn't they want to get
them off the roads?
God no! They must not be!
Why?
You're out of your mind!
They do favours to people!
No young man in his right mind
wants to be in the mountains
all day, chasing after sheep!
If he did, no woman
would ever want him!
What did your son do?
He seemed to love the tractor,
but found a betterjob!
Well, good for him!
Get a glass of vine for you and
another for Alfonso, he's thirsty!
...and finally
the female goat gets hot.
But it takes a bit of doing...
And the male goat follows her...
And itjumps and jumps.
And the female donkey?
It doesn't allow being covered
just like that.
Itjumps around until,
at least, it stays still...
And the male donkey,
with a hard on this long...
"I had a great voice,"
"and was a great falsetto".
"I admire Jorge Negrette,"
"Pedro Vargas, and 2 others".
"But of that great voice,"
"all I have left is a spurt".
"Rose of April,"
"dark-skinned virgin"
"of the mountains"
"of Montserrat"...
"Rose of April,"
"dark-skinned virgin"
"of the mountains"
"of Montserrat"...
"Lead us"...
"And enlighten"
"the land of Catalonia!"
"Catalonia triumphant"
"will once again"
"be rich and beautiful!"
"Drive them back, these people,"
"so conceited and so arrogant".
"A good blow with the sickle,"
"a good blow with the sickle"...
Come on!
Let's go now!
All Guardia Civil are military.
And military are no good.
First of all, there was not
one Catalonian guy here.
No, no Catalonians!
They were all...
The Guardia Civil were very nasty!
God damn them!
When Quico Sabat came here,
he was killed in St. Celoni.
The year I was in the service.
He came back and the entire
"other side" was with him...
And they were going to blow up
two towers of power stations
that supplied Barcelona.
They were going to free
Franco's prisoners.
During the power shortage,
they would "empty" the prison.
But were unable to...
Quico was unable to do it.
It was an attempt.
Much like an attempt.
And that's what happened
at the Twin Towers,
and in Madrid.
And now in London this summer...
Another slaughter!
And all that lead whoever
took part in that fuckin' war...
They kill everybody over there
in Iran-Iraq!
If what they show on
television is true,
that war must be hell
for that country!
That must be hell,
because everyone is dead there!
They still kill people!
Bush said the war was over,
but the war came afte"rw"ards.
- That bastard didn't do a thing!
- Not a thing!
Just spend millions on weapons,
and nothing else!
And the other countries also...
We are all lame on that!
We're all lame for sure,
we're all lame!
Damn it!
Bush blew it there!
Did they ever catch
that Bin Laden guy?
He's the one who takes
all the money under the table.
He's there right next to Bush
in his ranch.
I'm sure he is, I'm sure!
They'd catch him
if they wanted to, but...
They have to shut people up!
They have to say
they're doing something.
If Quei is in a good mood,
he'll tell you
all about the civil war!
Because Quei and old Picola
were kids during the war.
They remember it all.
This little lamb is nice.
What will happen 20 years from now?
Where will the herds go through?
On roads only?
Maybe they'll be a fire
or a drought and kill it all!
Someone said that the last time,
it all ended in a fire.
In a fire or a flood, and now
it will have to end in a fire.
They say the world will end
in about 300 million years.
- Will we still be alive?
- Sure, we'll be reincarnated!
People always say
we never really die.
Do you know a cure?
I got stuck with a bow.
Look at that finger.
It really hurts.
Try arnica oil.
Oh, women, Joan!
They're a lost cause, Joan!
A lost cause!
Joan, women have become ferocious!
He told me that, if you
don't sign these 5 bonuses,
they'll become
part of your single pay.
But if you do sign them,
they get withdrawn
and won't be part of your
single pay. You'd lose it.
And what is a "single pay"?
I don't know what single pay is!
It's probably just one payment!
Years ago, here in Vall del Bac,
we'd see 115 herds go through.
They'd start at the beginning of May
and end sometime in July.
And to get down,
they finished for Christmas.
I've got this blanket,
and I do like that.
- You'll be fine.
- I'll sleep like a king!
Do you want a pillow?
How about another one?
Okay.
The pillows should be high!
I don't want a dish,
just a piece of bread.
Come on, eat.
Eat, man!
Take some beans!
I had breakfast at home...
The bread basket, the bag...
We'll put the bag there.
We'll put that here.
Since 1949,
Joan "Pipa" is a nomadic shepherd
in the Catalan Pyrenees.
We accompany him
on his lastjourney.
Springtime, at home
That's the end of it.
That's the end of it.
Shouldn't you have left
for the mountain today?
I'd have left today.
I'd have left today.
We'd have left today.
Do you miss the journey?
Of course I miss it...
Come, Cristobal.
Let's have dinner.
Summer, at home
Autumn, at home
You see, Cristobal?
Here is where I have to spend
summer and winter.
Everything is gone,
as you can imagine.
What should I do with the sheep?
I'll have to feed them
with the rake.
Or, on the contrary, sell them...
But no one wants any.
Just like this land is in bad shape,
other neighbours,
other shepherds
are in the same solution.
Here in Catalonia we'll be left
without land and animals.
You can see
how rotten all this is!
In summertime you can't go
to the mountains
because the weather
has ruined the grass.
And down here the machines
are killing it all off!
We've reached the conclusion
that our work is over!
And all this is due to the train,
which will not benefit us at all!
We'll see it go by, and that's it!
But we'll never take the train!
But I also understand
that if they do it,
it's for their own needs,
or to cover up some money.
They know their own reasons!
There was plenty of water flowing
in the mountains all year long.
But for the last 6 or 7 years,
there isn't a drop.
People seem to take
the climate change as a joke,
but it's a very serious problem.
It's getting worse and worse.
It's started in the mountains,
but will soon reach the plains.
There will be neither water
nor grass!
Moving livestock is a dead job!
Years ago, these cattle paths
were crossed by thousands of sheep,
but now they are crossed
by thirty million cars!
Shepherds lost it all because they
remained silent, they didn't protest.
A road was built here, a moto"rw"ay
there, another road here,
and the livestock paths
have been destroyed!
And that breaks my heart.
I have done this all my life,
following cattle paths
from Port de la Selva to Ripolls.
That's the alarm that means
"it's time to move..."