Infiltrating ETA was an almost impossible task. However, one woman did it. Arantxa Berradre, Spanish police agent, spent six long years within the Donosti Command, one of the most active and dangerous of the terrorist organization. His work not only required boundless bravery, but also extraordinary mental strength. Now, his story comes to the cinema with Infiltrada, the film that promises to impact the audience with a faithful portrait of the years of lead and the fight against ETA.
The film, directed by Arantxa Echevarria, chronicles Berradre’s mission, whose objective was to provide crucial information to the police about the organization’s movements and plans. “Keeping up a lie for so long is very complicated,” says Luis Tosar, one of the film’s protagonists. Tosar plays an officer who must send Berradre on the operation, aware of the extreme risks. In one of the most tense scenes, her character warns: “You will be infiltrated. Which means that if you screw up you could end up in jail or worse. The risk of ending up with a shot in the back of the head will always be there.” there”.
The years of lead were a period marked by a level of violence never before seen in Spain. The murder of Gregorio Ordoñez, political leader and key figure in the fight against ETA, is one of the most heartbreaking moments portrayed in the film. “We filmed in the same bar where Ordoñez’s murder occurred,” says Carolina Yuste, who plays Berradre. “Holy shit, suddenly it’s like it takes on a different temperature.” That reality, tangible and cruel, permeates every frame of the film.
The script explores not only Berradre’s operation, but also the emotional and psychological strains of living a double life. No police officer could look her in the eye, a necessary gesture to protect her identity and avoid any emotional betrayal. Echevarria describes the situation as “an absolute limit.” The agent lived surrounded by those who toasted the death of fellow police officers, always under the constant threat of being discovered.
Through The Infiltrator, the actors and the team wanted to give visibility to a real, deep and dark story. “Knowing that everything in the story is real left me perplexed,” says Íñigo Gastesi, who is also part of the cast. The film reveals what few knew: that in a world where mistrust reigned, a woman like Arantxa Berradre was never suspected. “If they told you that that waitress was an ETA infiltrator, you would believe it. Well, ETA is more or less the same. They would never suspect a woman,” says Tosar in one of the dialogues.
The Infiltrator opens in theaters this Friday, promising not only to thrill, but also to shed light on a dark time in Spain’s recent history.
