El Bola

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 today's laws in the United States Alfredo's father could also be charged with child abuse. Also the legal advise Alfredo's father gets after he learns of Pablo's 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 Spielberg's film, but this was probably not the filmmaker's intent. It was interesting but not really anything special.

Heart warming movie. A friend of mine recommended it, I loved .

This is not an easy movie to watch. The main focus is child abuse and the help another parent tries to provide and just when you think all is lost, the main character learns to stand up for himself. I will be using this movie with my Spanish class.

I had been looking for this movie for a few months and I could not find it in France. Amazon.com gave me the opportunity to purchase it.If you like movies which deal with social relationship and especially relations between a father and a son who cannot understand each other, so I give you a piece of advice : get it on Amazon.com.A friend from France

Moving story of a friendship between two boys, where one of them is being tortured by his own father. The topic is and unfortunately will be still up-to-date. Sad to realise the reality of such cruelty and traumas for entire life. Worth watching though!

great movie covering a current topic.

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 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.

Juan Jose Ballesta plays El Bola or Pellet which he carries around his neck for luck. real name Pablo is beaten viciously by the nastiest father ever but he tries to keep his spirits up. At school a new boy starts. whom the other children reject but he sees something in him and befriends him. A decision that brings brief joy and happiness into his otherwise miserable life. You will find yourself rooting for him. and wanting his intolerable life to improve Fantastic acting from Juan Jose Ballesta, not surprising he received a Goya for best emerging actor. well deserved.

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 didn't 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.

As a Spanish teacher I always try to offer my students movies related to any kind of social problem. This is a very good and touchy movie; also very graphic about the portrayal of parental child abuse. The language is clear, easy to follow and to understand for those ones studying GCSE.

Brilliant movie about a particular (and relevant!) type of a difficult childhood. Good service.

not bad