Podcast Summary: Más de uno – La Cultureta 12x22: El camino a Shoah

Date: 6 de febrero de 2026
Host: Carlos Alsina (A), con colaboradores: Sergio del Molino (B), Nacho Vigalondo (C), Willy (D), Rubén Amón (E), Rosa Belmonte (F)

Overview

This episode of La Cultureta dives deep into two main topics:

1. A humorous and lively debate about recent cinema, particularly “Marty Supreme”, a fictional new film starring Timothée Chalamet and centered on ping pong.
2. A serious, reflective analysis on the documentary “Shoah” by Claude Lanzmann, on the occasion of its remastered release and an accompanying “making-of” documentary.

The group maintains their characteristic banter, toggling between wit and gravitas as the subject matter demands.

Key Discussion Points

1. Introductions & Banter (00:41–04:14)

• Meta-radio humor: The panel jokes about Onda Cero’s nature as a radio station and the misconception that radio is outdated technology.
• Dynamics and inside jokes: Tension and playful ribbing among the collaborators, especially Nacho and Sergio, Willy and Nacho.
• Announcement: No Cultureta next Friday for the Day of Radio, prompting mock outrage. The following program will be about the theme of "love" for San Valentín.

(“La radio somos nosotros.” — Willy, 03:15)

2. Ping Pong, Wang Wei, and “Marty Supreme” (04:14–15:01)

Wang Wei

• Nacho Vigalondo introduces Wang Wei, a Chinese table tennis champion now coaching in the US alongside her husband Diego Schaff. She’s trained famous actors, like Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump (05:08).
• Recent work: training Timothée Chalamet for "Marty Supreme".

“Marty Supreme” – Fictional New Film

• Nacho Vigalondo is effusive in his praise for Marty Supreme, allegedly starring Timothée Chalamet and inspired by classic, ambitious Hollywood sports films.
• Describes long, unchoreographed ping pong sequences shot in a single take:

  “La película es ver un número de acrobacia sin coreografiar, no se puede coreografiar el ping pong.” (07:47, C)

• Discussion about the film’s style: although set in the 50s, it’s directed with an 80s aesthetic, echoing Back to the Future and the early films of the Safdie brothers (09:02).
• Nacho draws parallels between Marty Supreme’s protagonist and the archetype of the flawed but talented athlete, asserting:

  “Es el arquetipo hollywoodiense clásico de un hombre que tiene más talento que nadie, pero es un necio y... cada vez que intenta... la lía más.” (13:35, C)

• Nacho insists it's the best film of the year, despite others not understanding the plot:

  “La película es un 10. La película es perfecta y cada vez me gusta más, o sea. Cuanto más os metáis con ella, más te gusta.” (13:09, C)

• The others struggle to follow Nacho’s fervor, focusing on the fact that Timothée Chalamet stars and suspecting Nacho is inventing half of it.

Meta-commentary

• The panel drifts between genuinely trying to discuss the movie and gently mocking their own confusion, citing the “cubist” nature of Nacho's reviews.
• Extended joke about not remembering the names/titles of certain movies, keeping a light and irreverent tone.

3. Shoah and Its Legacy (16:07–29:55)

Context & Impact

• Carlos Alsina introduces the topic, contrasting the silent, legendary arrival of the train in the Lumière brothers’ first film with the centrality of the train in Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah.
• Shoah: A groundbreaking, nearly 10-hour documentary about the Holocaust, with no archival footage or soundtrack, relying solely on survivor and perpetrator testimony.
• The remastered version and a new behind-the-scenes documentary (“El camino a Shoah”) are now available on streaming.

Testimony as Truth

• Rubén Amón stresses the importance of restoring and preserving Shoah:

  “No se trata de ver mejor el horror, sino de aprovechar la oportunidad... para que no se vuelva a perder nunca.” (19:40, E)

• He highlights Shoah’s influence on later “indirect” Holocaust films, like La zona de interés, and the unique way Lanzmann used words instead of images:

  “… solo a partir de la palabra y el testimonio, anestesiados como estamos ante las imágenes...” (20:01, E)

Depth and Taboo

• Willy (D) and Sergio (B) underscore the depth and bravery of Shoah:
  • The inclusion of Raúl Hilberg's pioneering historical analysis using train schedules to show bureaucratic complicity.
  • Breaking taboos about the roles of Jewish councils and the impossibility of fully understanding the gas chambers since there were no survivors.

  “Lo que tiene Shoah es que es el único documento que profundiza en lo incomprensible…” (22:21, D)

  • Emphasis on Treblinka’s lesser-known horror compared to Auschwitz.

Cinéma vérité & Personal Toll

• The making-of reveals Lanzmann’s own psychological journey, including moments of cynicism and fatigue as he struggled with incomprehensible testimony.
• The group reflects on the ethical and existential challenge of representing the Holocaust, the danger of forgetting as survivors die, and Shoah’s role against relativism and trivialization:

  “Shoah es la historia de un fracaso. Lanzmann intenta comprender algo que al final deja de comprender.” (23:39, B)

Legacy and Critique

• The film is compared (sometimes unfavorably by Lanzmann himself) to more sentimental cinematic takes like La lista de Schindler or La vida es bella. Shoah is held up as a monument to intransigence and historical rigor, not melodrama.
• Some dispute the Spanish translation of the new documentary’s title as “El camino a Shoah”.

4. Recommendations & Closing (30:56–32:25)

• Willy: La chica zurda, script by Sean Baker, directed by a Taiwanese director—described as a blend of police procedural, comedy, and family drama.
• Willy: Mi gran boda Sami, about the indigenous Sami people, praising its ethnographic and dramatic elements.
• Rubén Amón: The 5-0 Atlético de Madrid football match—cheekily offered as an equivalent to the table tennis enthusiasm.
• Nacho Vigalondo: Offers only “pinceladas” (brushstrokes) in his reviews, encouraging listeners to see films themselves.

(“Yo os ofrezco pinceladas y os doy la oportunidad de que vayáis a verla y tengáis una imagen de conjunto.” — Nacho, 32:03)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• About Shoah:

  “Lo que tiene Shoah es que es el único documento que profundiza en lo incomprensible y en lo que jamás entenderemos y en lo que nadie puede contar porque nadie ha vuelto de ahí, que es la muerte de tres millones de personas en las cámaras de gas...” (22:21, D)

• On the challenge of understanding the Holocaust:

  “Shoah es la historia de un fracaso. Lanzmann intenta comprender algo que al final deja de comprender.” (23:39, B)

• On the essential role of testimony vs. image:

  “... sólo a partir de la palabra y el testimonio, anestesiados como estamos ante las imágenes, se pueden contar desgracias sobrehumanas como esa.” (20:01, E)

• Nacho’s cinephilia:

  “Lo siento. A mí el cine me atraviesa y se me queda dentro.” (13:20, C)

• Humor in the face of confusion:

  “Vamos a hacer una pausa y a la vuelta intentaremos explicar algo de lo que Nacho lleva explicando 20 minutos...” (15:01, A)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |--------------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:41–04:14 | Banter, Radio Day, Next Program | | 04:14–15:01 | Wang Wei, Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme” Review | | 16:07–29:55 | Introduction & in-depth analysis of Shoah | | 30:56–32:25 | Film recommendations & comedy closing |

Conclusion

This episode of La Cultureta masterfully balances the playful and the profound. The roundtable nails the seriousness of Lanzmann’s Shoah and its necessity amidst fading memory and rising relativism, while also relishing their own cinephilic quirks and comic misunderstandings—especially around the fictional “Marty Supreme.” The discussion serves both as a celebration of film’s capacity to transmit history and trauma, and as a friendly reminder of the joy in shared artistic confusion.