Directed by Leonardo Favio, who wrote it with his brother Jorge Zuhair Jury, this was based on the radio show Nazareno Cruz y el lobo by Juan Carlos Chiappe.

Nazareno Cruz (Juan José Camero) is the seventh son of the now dead Jeremias, born when his mother Damiana (Elcira Olivera Garcés) wanted a son to replace the six that she lost along with her husband. Despite people thinking that he was born with the curse of lycanthropy, Nazareno grows into a happy life. Perhaps that’s because his godmother witch Lechiguana (Nora Cullen) gave him his name, which means the Nazarene Cross. Everyone in the village seems to love him and there’s been no sign of a wolf. Yet.

He’s already found true love in Griselda (Marina Magali), who stands out amongst the women due to her blonde hair. His mother and godmother try to keep him from falling in love, but once he does, he starts to transform. That’s when Mandinga (Alfredo Alcón), the devil, comes to him to promise a life of riches and never becoming a wolf. All he has to do is refuse being in love. Nazareno can’t do that and the problems begin.

One of the most successful movies ever made in Argentina, this was the official submission for the country in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 1976 Academy Awards. In 2022, as part of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, the magazines La vida útil, Taipei and La tierra quema selected it as the 17th best movie in the history of the country.

This is a ravishing film, one that uses the beauty of nature to its fullest. Where else will you see a dog play a werewolf or a wolf-boy discover that Satan is just misunderstood?

Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf is part of the new Severin box set, All the Haunts Be Ours Volume 2. It has extras including commentary by Adrian Garcia Bogliano, director Of Here Comes the Devil and Nicanor Loreti, director Of Punto Rojo and a short film, Love for Mother Only, as well as commentary on that short by director Dennison Ramalho.

You can order this set from Severin.