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

El Bola is a powerful movie from Spain. In 2000, it was director Achero Manas first full-length feature after having directed a handful of short film projects. It handles the powder keg issue of child abuse with realism. Juan Jose Ballesta plays Pablo, nicknamed Pellet. At filming, I believe he was 12. Juan had played on Spanish TV, but this was his first feature. He has worked consistently in Spanish films in the seven years since. He breaks your heart with those eyes that reflect the joy, innocence and love of a child and contrasts with the utter fear for his life. The culminating incident where he spits in his fathers face blows the lid off. We know whats coming and watch as the helpless mother flails about pathetically. Pablos best friend is Alfredo, played by Pablo Galan. Galan was chosen from 1,600 children who auditioned. He had no previous acting experience. Hes a bit heavyset; & his Alfredo is an oddball & loner. Galan was well chosen. He moves effortlessly between the young adolescent alienation, to wild abandon as he crashes the amusement park rides, to sober contemplation as he sees the family friend dying of AIDS. Beside Ballestas Pablo, Alberto Jimenez makes the greatest impression as Jose, the father of best friend Pablo. Jose is a tattoo artist. We first view him as wild, tattooing a dragon on fat mans back. As his screen time increases, we see a father who listens to his family, treats his wife & children well and cares about them and his friends. Jose stands up for Pablo, taking risks on the boys behalf. By the films end, he is our hero. With six films shot in 2007, Jimenez has had a busy career in Spanish cinema since this film from 2000. Our villain is Pablos father Mariano, played by Manuel Moron. The Film Movement DVD explains that the character is sad because of the loss of his first son. However, no explanation suffices for the loveless home life this father creates. I found it interesting that the Film Movement DVD lists stage training and productions for Moron in Spain & Argentina. Moron plays this controlling parent perfectly; and we hate him for it. Of the smaller roles, all characters are well directed and fill the film realistically. Ana Wagener, who to me looks a bit like Melissa Etheridges Spanish sister, plays the social worker Laura who advises Alfredos family on how to handle the situation. Maximo Jimenez plays Pablos friend Cobeta, a good looking lad who plays a game of rushing onto the railroad tracks before an oncoming train to grab a bottle. Gloria Munoz plays Aurora, Pablos helpless mother who cannot stop her husbands abuse. The screenplay leaves an open-ended conclusion. The events have been so disturbing that perhaps we all hope for the best. We could either interpret that things will get better for Pablo or that the father will get away with his domestic abuse. Perhaps in this situation, no one can actually win. This is a powerful film that should be viewed by mature audiences. May our angels around the world help children from every culture who find themselves helpless and attacked.

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.

Brilliant, Heartbreaking, superb acting of the 2 kids and all the other members of the cast, Stunning, touching story and wonderful actors,this movie should be an Oscar awards winner. its very well made, each and every character shows the psychological complexity of the human being, the kids think and act somethimes like adults and the adults like kids or animals, it lets you feel what a real family and a loving father is, but also lets you perceive and understand what Domestic violence,child abuse and sickness means in many countries and places around the world or in your own next doors neighbors. Beautifully draws the real meaning of friendship, love and family values but also keeps you at the edge of the seat in pain and tears by seeing that abusive cruel sick father. Superb!

Child abuse, as incidents increase each year, is uncomforable for parents, which is why the topic is rarely filmed. It doesnt provide a feel-good experience, even with a happy ending, and most certainly it is not box office. With El Bola in 2000, some intrepid Spanish filmmakers took it on and didnt flinch. Their searing and sensitive low-budget movie, which indeed is uncomfortable to watch, won more than 30 top international awards, including four Goyas (Spains Academy Award.) Its DVD release needs to be seen. The scenes of physical, emotional and verbal abuse of a 12-year-old boy by his father, while his enabling wife protests feebly, are unsparing. The young victim is befriended by a classmate whose parents provide a caring contrast and who discover the abuse. The boy is rescued, yet his shocking monologue at the end will leave you uneasy long after the credits roll. You come to realize that undetected child abuse is so common that it is occurring even as you watch. The cast and crew are flawless and their little movie is unbearably moving.

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.

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.

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.

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!