El Bola ( 2000 ) ( Pellet ) [ Blu-Ray, Reg.A/B/C Import - Spain ]

Films thrive on parallel universes, and writer/director Achero Mañas El Bola takes full advantage of contrasting two fathers and their family lives through the eyes of their sons. Although the Spanish film won four Goya Awards in 2000 for Best Emerging Director, Best Emerging Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Film, it was ignored by American theaters until now.. Although largely a heavy-handed indictment of parental failings and the indifference of Spanish social workers and legal system towards child abuse, the film retains ambiguities that make it well worth watching. Part of what makes the film compelling are the first rate performances by its young cast. Pablo aka El Bola (Juan José Ballesta) is a twelve year old living in Madrid. His life radically changes when he meets Alfredo (Pablo Galán) a new boy who joins his class. What follows is a comparison of two parallel family situations that remain ambiguous enough to keep the careful viewer wondering what exactly is going on in the families and the motivation for Pablos father Marianos (Manuel Morón) extreme violence towards his young son. In contrast is the homelife of Alfredo, a bohemian mix of couples that are willing to show their child the love and affection that is missing in Pablos life.Alfredos family atmosphere is completely foreign to Pablo--a much more relaxed, loving, and accepting bohemian lifestyle that appeals greatly to the boy. Exactly what the relationships are between the adults in Alfredos family remain unstated--a gay subtext may or may not exist, as the family certainly are friends with many homosexuals who have died from AIDS. Alfredos father, José (Alberto Jiménez), makes a living as a tattoo artist and anchors the extended family. The filmmaker leaves his sexuality ambiguous, which is irrelevant to the two boys--hes a levelheaded, caring father who has their best interests at heart. El Bola is at its heart a story of friendship between two young boys and the devestating effects of parental abuse. While the film is not always easy to watch it is very well made and well worth a viewing if not only for the story presented but for the questions it raises. Film Movement chose this film as its debut installment and presents the film with a making of documentary and the short film More by Mark Osborne.

This movie was a dissapointing waste of time. It showed that violence happens within family units and that not all people are bad. Thats it. Dull, uninteresting, negative, with no moral or even ending to the story. Junk.

Pablo (Juan Jose Ballesta), known by his friends as Pellet, is ruled by a tyrannical and abusive father. Pellet pales as he tries to grow up under the shadow of a dead brother, but remains a deeply empathetic and sensitive child. When classmates pick on the new kid, Alfredo (Pablo Galan), Pellet befriends him and is consequently introduced to a gentle and fun version of family life centered around Alfredos sweet father Jose. You dont learn the extent of Pellets abuse until the last few seconds of the film and youre left wondering how anyone who endured such depravity could have been so sweet. This film won more than 30 international awards, including four Spanish Goyas, all of them well-deserved. At times I completely forgot I was watching a movie and that the actors were acting. Engrossing and tender. If you like this film, Id also recommend the films

El Bola or `the pellet is the nickname given to young Pablo - he carries a ball bearing for good luck. He has a miserable home life where he is forced to help care for his incontinent and ageing grandmother, work in his fathers shop, his father is a vicious tyrant who beats him for any reason and is a control freak par excellence and his mother is indifferent. Across this ensemble is cast the shadow of his elder dead brother - whose place El Bola should be in - according to his father. Then one day a new boy enters the class - despite the initial rejection by the other boys, Bola sees something in him and starts a friendship. He then discovers a family who have many problems and despite the parents being separated they come across as balanced and loving both to each other and their children. This is something Bola has not experienced before and the friendship blossoms. Then his father finds out and bans him from any further contact - the beatings increase in ferocity too and everything starts building for a denouement - but who will be the ultimate victim? This is an extremely well made film with an outstanding performance from Juan Jose Ballesta (`Bruc) as El Bola and a supporting cast that all put in fine performances. Director Achero Mañas has taken the difficult subject of parental abuse and tackled it in a believable and still upsetting way. For anyone who suffered at the hands of a parent this will be an uncomfortable watch. The embarrassment factor is one that I can still remember having had a father with similar inclinations, and this is all captured along with the hugely violent mood swings and the seemingly innocuous things that can trigger the violence from the father. It is hard to say I enjoyed this film for reasons as stated, but it has made a lasting impression and is well worth hunting down - it came out in 2000. It is in Spanish with good subtitles and a run time of an hour and a half - not an easy watch but ultimately a rewarding one.

This is Achero Mañas first film and is really excellent! It won 4 Goyas awards including best picture and best emerging director. Is a very interesting stoy about fathers and sons and that no always what you see is what is true. Really an excellent buy!

El Bola or `the pellet is the nickname given to young Pablo - he carries a ball bearing for good luck. He has a miserable home life where he is forced to help care for his incontinent and ageing grandmother, work in his fathers shop, his father is a vicious tyrant who beats him for any reason and is a control freak par excellence and his mother is indifferent. Across this ensemble is cast the shadow of his elder dead brother - whose place El Bola should be in - according to his father. Then one day a new boy enters the class - despite the initial rejection by the other boys, Bola sees something in him and starts a friendship. He then discovers a family who have many problems and despite the parents being separated they come across as balanced and loving both to each other and their cgildren. This is something Bola has not experienced before and the friendship blossoms. Then his father finds out and bans him from any further contact - the beatings increase in ferocity too and everything starts building for a denouement - but who will be the ultimate victim? This is an extremely well made film with an outstanding performance from Juan Jose Ballesta (`Bruc) as El Bola and a supporting cast that all put in fine performances. Director Achero Mañas has taken the difficult subject of parental abuse and tackled it in a believable and still upsetting way. For anyone who suffered at the hands of a parent this will be an uncomfortable watch. The embarrassment factor is one that I can still remember having had a father with similar inclinations, and this is all captured along with the hugely violent mood swings and the seemingly innocuous things that can trigger the violence from the father. It is hard to say I enjoyed this film for reasons as stated, but it has made a lasting impression and is well worth hunting down - it came out in 2000. It is in Spanish with good subtitles and a run time of an hour and a half - not an easy watch but ultimately a rewarding one.

Well acted and well directed. The relationships of the boys was very moving. The juxtaposition of the family relationships of the two families was interesting.

This multi-award-winning film tackles the difficult subject of domestic abuse and in particular a fathers abusive relationship with his twelve-year-old son. The nature of this abuse is revealed slowly, so that like any outsider, we dont see the full extent of it until weve already formed opinions about both characters. The film contrasts their relationship with that of the boys new friend at school, whose father is a tattoo artist and seems on the surface to be more potentially troublesome as a parent. But as we watch him with his son, we see how is firmness is an expression of his caring and love for the boy. The boys two homes represent mirror worlds with contrasting emotional dynamics. The drama in the film emerges as the abusive fathers treatment of his son becomes gradually apparent to his sons friend, and we become informed of the near inability of anyone outside the family to rescue him. There is no easy resolution to this dilemma, and we are left with a sense of urgency about this disturbing social problem. The performances of the two twelve-year-olds are wonderful, as they become friends, exploring the early stages of their growing independence. Shot in the streets of Madrid, the film has a gritty, gray urban ambiance, and key scenes are played out along a railway where commuter trains rush by and schoolboys play death-defying games across the tracks.

Although most people speak mainly, if not only, of the child abuse in this movie the true theme of the movie the friendship between Pablo and Alfredo. The director verifies this in the Making of El Bola which is included on the DVD. (ASIN: B0006OJH0E in case this review is included on move than one version of El Bola.) As I see it Pablo is drawn to danger, that is what he likes about his friends at the beginning of the movie, the well dressed and supposedly well adjusted boys with whom he plays a deadly game on the railroad tracks. I think that is also why he so quickly tries to befriend the new kid Alfredo, Alfredo looks like trouble. But the movie is filled with contrasts and anti-stereotypes. At the same time not everything or everybody in the movie is clear-cut as good or bad. Under todays laws in the United States Alfredos father could also be charged with child abuse. Also the legal advise Alfredos father gets after he learns of Pablos abuse defies common sense and puts both Alfredo and his father in a major conflict. The movie is a decent drama, well acted and well produced with a fair amount of action, suspense, etc. One abuse scene, demonstrating just how bad the situation is, is intense. The DVD also includes a six minute and twenty-three second stop-motion film. The charters reminded me of E.T. from Steven Spielbergs film, but this was probably not the filmmakers intent. It was interesting but not really anything special.

The performances of the two central boys, and the cast around them ring absolutely true to my understanding of what happens in the situation El Bola finds himself in, and I predict that both young actors will go far. Many will ask why the mother didnt intervene, and will say that no mother in real life would stand by; sadly this film is true to life. The mother would have been ground down for years, to the point of being impotent to do anything. For the first half, this film has a nihilistic feel of futility to it. It is heart-breaking, but also life-affirming. The film is unrated in America, but the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) Rating, legally required for movies released in Britain, is 15. That means it is rated unsuitable for anyone below the age of 15.