By George Bate
Christopher Nolan and The Odyssey need to watch out, because La Bola Negra is destined to give them a run for their money in the upcoming months as awards season approaches. A sweeping romantic epic and perhaps the greatest queer movie of all time, La Bola Negra is a beautiful piece of art that champions the importance of accepting one’s true self about a beautiful piece of art that champions the importance of accepting one’s true.
Making its Canadian premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, La Bola Negra follows the lives of three gay Spanish men over the course of nearly a century as they experience touching romance and devastating loss.
Oscillating back-and-forth between the journeys of three protagonists across three distinct time periods, the film from directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo juggles a myriad of characters, historical contexts, and conflicts. Such ambition with their story means that Los Javis’ film can feel, at times, somewhat unwieldy and lengthy as it regularly pivots to touch on new issues or explore new developments.
A third of the film takes place in 1932 and follows a young gay man named Carlos (xxx) as he faces rejection from a local casino community due to his sexual identity. Meanwhile, a separate third of the film takes place in the 1938 and follows another young man named Sebastian (xxx) as he finds unexpected connection following the loss of his family. Then, in 2017, there’s Alberto (xxxx), who, upon the passing of his grandfather, sets out on a path to put the pieces together of an important, yet long-missing stage play.
All three narratives of the film eventually interweave and click together so perfectly and with such extraordinary precision, but the film takes quite a while to get to that point. The scenes following Sebastian prove to be the most compelling and moving as the audience vicariously experiences a man who has to mask both his grief and his sexual orientation due to societal pressures and the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. While the scenes following Carlos and Alberto certainly capture one’s attention, with moments involving the former in the final act making for particularly gut-wrenching viewing, the film comes to life most potently when it focuses on Sebastian, a young man with a passion for music who pretends to be a soldier in the Spanish Civil War. While trying to keep up appearances, Sebastian develops a fascination with a captured enemy of the army and, through their burgeoning relationship, undergoes experiences that shape the direction of his and numerous other people’s lives across generations.
La Bola Negra feels somewhat disconnected, overdrawn, and unfocused for its first two acts, but, upon the beginning of its third act, solidifies its status as one of the year’s greatest and most powerful films. In chronicling the development, discovery, and dissemination of a stage play about the importance of living life as one’s true self, Los Javis’ film becomes the very piece of art its story revolves around.
Cleverly coalescing all of its disparate elements in a profoundly powerful final act, La Bola Negra features a whopping number of gut-wrenching lines and moments that the vast majority of movies or television shows don’t even have one of. The emotional hits, both heartbreaking and inspirational, keep on coming in this third act and take the audience on an exhilarating rollercoaster of pain, love, grief, joy, loss, liberty, and virtually every other existing emotion, whether it be positive, negative, or somewhere in between.
None of this emotion is played saccharinely or disingenuously, however. Instead, it all comes from a deeply earnest and person place for the filmmakers. The Javis aren’t going out of their way to make the audience cry (although they most certainly will). Rather, they are giving sagacious and passionate emotional truth to nuanced interpretations of identity, sexuality, romance, and loss, rendering La Bola Negra singular in its ability to stir up emotion, provoke profound thought, and, most strikingly, change one’s outlook on life.
Many readers will know of the Danny DeVito meme from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia in which his character, Frank Reynolds, says, “I get it now” after Mac delivers a stunning interpretive dance that allows Frank to finally understand Mac’s experience as a gay man. Albeit in a longer form, La Bola Negra will likely elicit similar reactions in non-queer audience members. In other terms, seldom has there been a film in cinema history that approaches queer identity and life with such empathy, rawness, authenticity, and approachability. Queer people will feel seen, whereas non-queer people will obtain insights into the humanity and horror of queer people.
In turn, Los Javis have recreated a film that is essential viewing for queer and non-queer folks alike. Despite its violence and, at times, uncomfortable subject matter, the film is particularly relevant for younger audiences as they navigate the early stages of identity formation. It’s a beautiful thing that a movie like La Bola Negra exists for all people, but especially young people, to watch. Regardless of one’s sexual orientation, the film will make you feel seen, foster the confidence to live life on your own terms, and approach others with the empathy and sensitivity they deserve.
All of these lasting impressions work so effectively, because Los Javis are not trying to preach to the audience nor convert them to their way of thinking. They are simply telling a story, an admittedly expansive one that earns true audience investment in the characters and their struggles.
VERDICT: 9/10
A sweeping romantic epic and perhaps the greatest queer movie of all time, La Bola Negra is a beautiful piece of art that champions the importance of accepting one’s true self. While somewhat disconnected, overdrawn, and unfocused through its first two acts, the film comes to life most potently in its extraordinary third act, cleverly coalescing its disparate elements with extraordinary precision into one of the year’s greatest and most powerful films. With a whopping number of gut-wrenching lines and moments, La Bola Negra takes audiences on an exhilarating rollercoaster of pain, love, grief, joy, loss, and liberty, all while approaching queer identity and life with empathy, rawness, authenticity, and approachability. Queer people will feel seen, whereas non-queer people will obtain insights into the humanity and horror of queer people, making La Bola Negra essential viewing for queer and non-queer folks alike.