‘La bola negra’ movie review: a self-satisfied, bracingly overstated faux-epic
Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s film La bola negra follows three connected stories across 1932, 1937 and 2017, exploring homosexuality, family history and Spain’s past. The review argues that, despite its ambitious scope and awards attention, the film’s heavy-handed writing and shallow treatment of its themes make it feel like an unearned epic.
In 1932, Carlos is excluded from a social club over allegations that he is gay; in 1937, Sebastian survives a bombing and later begins a relationship with prisoner Rafael. In 2017, Sebastian’s grandson Alberto investigates the family’s past and Lorca’s unfinished play La bola negra. The reviewer criticises the links between the timelines, repetitive imagery, explanatory monologues and 159-minute running time, saying the film only skims the historical context it invokes.
In short
- The film spans three timelines from 1932 to 2017.
- Its review criticises the writing as unsubtle and shallow.
- The reviewer says its 159-minute length is poorly served by the story.
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The case for
The film’s three timelines connect private lives to Spain’s history, using homosexuality, family memory and Lorca’s unfinished play to explore how the past shapes the present. Its broad scope and recurring images may be seen as a deliberate attempt to give overlooked experiences an epic, emotionally resonant form, even if the approach is openly theatrical.
The case against
The review’s criticism is that the film’s ambitions exceed its execution: the timelines feel weakly connected, repeated imagery and explanatory monologues overstate themes, and the long running time compounds the problem. By invoking major historical events and cultural figures without exploring their context in depth, it risks making its subject matter feel like a backdrop for an unearned epic.
Explained simply
La bola negra is a Spanish film by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, told through three stories set in 1932, 1937 and 2017. They follow Carlos, who faces accusations about his sexuality; Sebastian, who survives a bombing and later forms a relationship with Rafael, a prisoner; and Alberto, Sebastian’s grandson, who investigates the family past.
The stories connect through homosexuality, family history and the unfinished play La bola negra by Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca. Their different settings span a period of major upheaval in Spain, including the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. The film’s ambitions and treatment of these subjects are at the centre of the review.