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Movies / On DVD / El Bola
El Bola

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El Bola (2000)

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91 %
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Reviews Counted:11

Fresh:10

Rotten:1

Average Rating:7.2/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Dec 13, 2002 Limited

Synopsis: Pablo (El Bola) is a 12-year old boy raised in a violent and unforgiving environment. Embarrassed by his family life, he retreats from his classmates, engaging them only through a dangerous game.... Pablo (El Bola) is a 12-year old boy raised in a violent and unforgiving environment. Embarrassed by his family life, he retreats from his classmates, engaging them only through a dangerous game. The arrival of a new boy at school, from whom he learns a new definition of friendship, leads to the discovery of a family where communication and love prevail over domination and violence. The film poignantly parallels the lives of a caring father unable to connect with his willful son, and that of distant Pablo (El Bola) and his abusive father who is incapable of giving him the love he needs, replacing it with something far more sinister. One imprints his son in an improbably gentle manner with a tattoo stylus, the other brutally with his fists. Told through both the children’s and adults' points of view, Achero Manas's El Bola is a stirring narrative that lodges in the memory. -- © Film Movement [More]

Starring: Alberto Jimenez

Starring: Alberto Jimenez

Director: Archero Mañas

Director: Archero Mañas
Studio: Film Movement

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jan 1, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for El Bola

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1 - 15 (sorted by date)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/18/08
Jonathan Holland
Jonathan Holland
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
N/R

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Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/20/03
Guardian [UK]

Deliberately and skillfully uses ambiguity to suggest possibilities which imbue the theme with added depth and resonance.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
04/09/03
Arthur Lazere
Arthur Lazere
culturevulture.net
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: FilmFour.com | comment Comment
04/08/03
FilmFour.com

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Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/05/03
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC

A simple, but gritty and well-acted ensemble drama that encompasses a potent metaphor for a country still dealing with its fascist past.

Full Review Source: All Movie Guide | comment Comment
02/02/03
Josh Ralske
Josh Ralske
All Movie Guide

An exceptional film.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/21/03
Maria Garcia
Maria Garcia
Film Journal International

Though uniformly well acted, especially by young Ballesta and Galan (a first-time actor), writer/director Achero Manas's film is schematic and obvious.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/13/02
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Mana gives us compelling, damaged characters who we want to help -- or hurt.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
12/13/02
Robert K. Elder
Robert K. Elder
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Never [sinks] into exploitation.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
12/13/02
V.A. Musetto
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Although largely a heavy-handed indictment of parental failings ... the film retains ambiguities that make it well worth watching

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
12/12/02
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

At once subtle and visceral, the film never succumbs to the trap of the maudlin or tearful, offering instead with its unflinching gaze a measure of faith in the future.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
12/10/02
Leslie Camhi
Leslie Camhi
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Not employing gimmicks or tipping off the nightmare to be faced,'El Bola' draws us in.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/10/02
Donald J. Levit
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

As blunt as it is in depicting child abuse, El Bola is a movie steeped in an ambiguity that lends its conflicts a symbolic resonance.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
12/10/02
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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