This warmly funny, affectionate one-man-and-his-donkey road movie from Spain slows the world down to a gentle 3mph plod. It’s a documentary, more or less, about the director’s uncle Manuel, an eccentric old-timer who tramps about the countryside in Andalucía dressed in a cowboy hat and poncho like Clint Eastwood as The Outlaw Josey Wales. His donkey, Gorrión, is never far from his side. At 73, with two heart attacks under his belt, uncle Manuel is planning the trek of a lifetime, 2,000 miles across the US – and he’s taking Gorrión along as his equine Sancho Panza.

In the end, Donkeyote is more about is Manuel’s mission to get the trip off the ground. His biggest obstacle is getting hold of €12,000 for the donkey’s return passage on a cargo ship. To that end, he treks 90 miles with Gorrión to the HQ of a fizzy drinks company to ask them for sponsorship. On the journey, it becomes clear that the poor donkey has a phobia of bridges, boats and anything water-related, which doesn’t bode well. Watching man coax beast on to a ferry is like getting a lesson in empathetic parenting. Manuel is soothing: “Gorrión, I think you want to be reasonable.” That night, telling the story in a bar, he beams with pride: “Gorrión got on the boat like a lion.” Scenes like this are a pure delight.

Some people who’ve watched the film assuming it’s a fly-on-the-wall have felt swindled by director Chico Pereira’s not-quite-documentary style – he works with real people, but fictionalises episodes. It didn’t bother me, but is perhaps worth knowing in advance. In the Hollywood version, no doubt the character would be a grumpy old codger, more at home with his animals than people. What’s so lovely here is Manuel’s warmth and humanity – the way he lives with regrets and disappointment.