El bola

What is particulary gut-wrenching about this film is being reminded very vividly how utterly helpless our children actually are once delivered to the mercies of adults. It must remind one of Dostoevsky's great parable questioning the very foundations of faith and life on this planet: the tears of a brutalized child, how can anything be right if the innocence itself gets choked and humiliated so early on? Who knows how many millions upon millions of defencless little men and women gets brutalized physically and mentally on an endless train of abuse? And to think that this is the age where there's at least some inkling of how horridly despicable abuse patterns are. +++ *Within this framework, shore, one would find the delicate homage to Les 400 Coups (the amusement park scenes, the friendship among the city boys...) *The music score is so brilliant that is stand out on its very own.

The movie is from Spain, and I grew up in America, but it helped me so much throughout the years. My Dad is bipolar, and was always angry. He wasn't as crazy as this Dad, but he did slap me around and pull my hair any time he was mad at something in his life. He has kind of apologized now that I am an adult,but still thinks he was kind of a good father. It's tough, and seeing movies like this let me know someone out there knows this stuff happens.

Hi all, I've just presented this film to my students, I'm a lecturer at Purdue University(IN) and I read the comments here. I have to say that many people are completely wrong when they think that el Alfredo's parents are homosexual. You have to be aware that Spanish language is quite genuine when talking about curses. The fact that Alfredo's father calls his friend "maricón" (literary, "faggot") does not imply AT ALL that he is actually homosexual, it's only a very informal way of addressing a friend, you have to be aware that it is a very different culture. When I read that someone wrote that he found very strange that Alfredo's parents were homosexual, it called my attention and I wanted to double check that, because I really know Spanish culture and society and you can be sure that that is not normal there in Spain so far. Well, I just wanted to point that out. Thank you very much.

Great film. You'll recall classics like Truffaut's 400 BLOWS. There are scenes of such warmth and such brutal stillness, it made me want to reach into the screen and affect the course of these characters lives. A lot of assumptions I made about these characters were challenged along the way. It's rare that a film actually teaches you something about yourself. Phenomenal cast and director who deserved the Best Director and 5 Goya (Spanish Oscars) the film received. El Bola's abusive father was played to a perfect pitch by Manuel Moron as a cold, abusive father, turned sheepish when the outside world learns of his transgressions against his own son. You want to strangle him! Turns out it was a Spanish indie underdog that upset a lot of larger, bigger Spanish films. Like the other reviews say, be prepared to laugh, cry, and become infuriated. Definitely a film to check out and a director to watch!!!

I think El bola is a pretty good movie. But what calls my attention is the acting. I think they make the movie believable. You really feel like they are going through all what they go through. You forget that you are sitting there watching a movie in the theatre and feel like you are watching a documentary or living it. Also that it's not corny or heroic with a "happy ending", it's real, and straight-forward, that is one of it's qualities. They tell you a story that happens everyday and they are not trying to be original about it, they just narrate it simply and honestly.