MartinHafer The first 20 or so minutes of this film didn't engage me very much. Other than think that many of the kids were idiots (as they played a game like Chicken with oncoming trains) and cursed too much, I really didn't think much one way of the other. However, as the film continued, the plot took an unexpected twist as you learn that the title character (a kid who looks to be about 11 years-old) is being seriously abused by his god-awful father. The violence he inflicts is amazingly realistic in one scene and so this film is provisionally recommended. While it was very well made, children and people who were victims of child abuse probably should not watch it--and I could see the film instigating flashbacks of abuse. However, aside from this warning, the film is well constructed, extremely well acted and engaging. You really can't stop watching after a while because it really hooks you. See this film--just think twice about who you ask to watch it with you.

nycritic Domestic violence has never been an easy topic to get into when telling a story due to the fact it's just too sensitive an issue to see depicted on screen and there's the danger of exploitation. Achero Mañas 2000 film EL BOLA, one of the big winners of the 2001 Goya Awards, explores the issue of child abuse through the culture's very machismo -- one that perpetuates that it's okay if the father imposes his will over his family, because he's the breadwinner and he's always right. It's a system that has the essence of repetition and even today continues to live on. (A similar issue would be explored on a very veiled level in 2002's VALENTIN, and more explicitly in 2003's TE DOY MIS OJOS.) In this story, Pedro, a.k.a. El Bola due to a small malleable pellet he constantly holds, is a lonely boy going to school who has few to no friends. At home, his father Mariano is everything but loving: he's a tyrant who forces his will and his anger almost constantly at Pedro who lives in total fear of him. However, a new boy in school, Alberto, prompts Pedro to come out of his shell and both become friends. Pedro becomes accepted in Alberto's family, particularly Jose, Alberto's father, who treats his son as a friend more than a son. On the other hand, Mariano doesn't see this friendship as something his son needs and progressively tries to keep him away from them until Alberto becomes aware of some telling marks on Pedro's body and takes matter into his own hands, having Jose alert the help of a social worker. However, things aren't that easy and her very intervention could backfire. That is, until one night, the violence in Pedro's home escalates to a point where actions must be taken.Achero Mañas has created a movie that should be seen no matter how difficult some of the scenes between Pedro and Mariano may be. The only way to understand the horror of family abuse in the name of obedience and respect -- Mariano sees Jose as a pervert because he makes his living as a tattoo artist. Indeed, many of our parents would have reacted the same way if our friend's parents lived a "different" lifestyle. In many ways, Mariano and Jose represent Spain's past and future -- Mariano being the extreme conservative, Jose being the man of the future. Both actors are well cast in their roles. Manuel Moron has the physicality that suggests a brutal man, while Alberto Gimenez, despite his skinhead appearance which suggests counterculture, is a gentle man who unless pushed does not show aggression.It's because of these two vastly different fathers that their son's personalities come through the way they do: Alberto is quietly confident. He has no issues other than the ones appropriate for his age -- typical growing pains. Pedro, however, has been raised in a house full of violence. His mother can't do much, though she would like to. It's not hard to see that in his closing confession, Pedro pours his feelings out for the very first time, and it's a barrage of emotion: the problem is, it's all negative, sheer hatred, all directed towards this man who has beat him for no other reason that he was an easy target. EL BOLA offers even at this most extreme moment a semblance of hope -- it does seem Pedro is under some form of therapy -- so in this way, Pedro's final outburst is not just his, but goes for every boy and girl who suffered under the hurtful hand of a parent. In this way, EL BOLA has a powerful message and conveys it beautifully.

allie203 Very simple movie, but so powerful, the type of movie you won't find in the theater near you,a little hidden treasure. Excellent cast and performances. A lesson in life growing up, of friendship, despair and hope. You do not want the movie to end, to me its a sign of something special. I see the game they are playing on the train tracks as a dare, but also a death wish, even as children they are playing a game that are similar to their way of life, comes the newcomer who has a normal upbringing and find the game stupid and refused to play it,shows the difference between the children depicted in the story, one raised by loving parents, the others living their life with no structure, no love, having to fight their own battles.

bubsy-3 I really enjoyed most of this movie. I liked the characters enough to almost believe that one of the teenagers had a gay man as his father and a lesbian woman as his mother. I also cared about the kids. But this movie just ends... w/o closure and that really annoyed me. So, what was a 10/10 or 9/10 ended up a 7/10 due to the abrupt ending. Still, it is sincere and honest. But I really wanted to know what happens next.