One of the early inspirations for “La Bola Negra,” the epic new Spanish film, is a four-page fragment of a drama with that title by the poet and playwright, Federico García Lorca. Lorca, who was prominent in Spain during the 1920s and 1930s, was assassinated in 1936, but it’s unclear whether the motive for his murder was his leftist politics, his gay sexual orientation, or something else. “La Bola Negra,” which translates as “The Black Ball,” would have been the first of his works to address homosexuality directly, had he lived to complete it. The new movie takes the imaginary leap to finish the manuscript, and to concoct ways to put its themes into past and contemporary contexts. It was co-directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, known collectively in Spain as “Los Javis.” With the film, the directors honor the legacy of the people like Lorca who suffered and paved the way for present generations of queer people. They also remind us that current freedoms must not be taken for granted. The resulting movie is extraordinary.
“La Bola Negra” tells three interconnected stories. The first takes place in 1932 and uses the play fragment as its basis. Carlo, a 20-year-old upper-class man in Granada, has applied to an elite club to which his father already belongs. The men of the membership committee vote by choosing a white or black ball to express their individual judgments. Impacting their deliberations are rumors that Carlo is homosexual. He must contend with their speculations and decide how to confront them.
The second narrative, in 1936, follows Sebastián, a young man who becomes a soldier in Francisco Franco’s Nationalist Army as a survival tactic after his village is strafed by Italian planes. (The Spanish Civil War pitted the leftist, freely elected Republican Army against Francisco Franco’s Fascist Nationalists. Franco eventually won and ruled over a repressive regime for more than thirty years.) Sebastián is assigned to guard an injured captive, Rafael, and he’s ordered to pump the prisoner for information about Republican Army activities. As Sebastián and the doomed Rafael spend more time together, a bond begins to form, and secrets are shared.
The final thread, in 2017, concerns Alberto, a shaggy gay playwright and historian. Although living with a close friend (and possible boyfriend), his life is in disarray. His plays have failed; his relationship with his neurotic, drug-addicted mother is contentious. One day, a lawyer contacts Alberto and tells him that his grandfather — whose existence he was unaware of — has left him an inheritance. That legacy will illuminate the other storylines. The three stories are not told chronologically; transitions between them can sometimes occur with a single cut. After about twenty minutes, the three plots are easily distinguishable.
Los Javis’s sensibility is extravagant and poetic. While the male characters are viewed with a gay gaze, there’s only a little sex, per se. The directors. literate and culturally voracious as they apparently are, borrow from sources as varied as “Titanic,” Tom of Finland, “The English Patient,” and Federico Fellini. They even provide musical numbers. In the middle of the movie is an elaborate sequence featuring a fabulous Penelope Cruz entertaining the troops with a couple of fun, vibrant songs. Crucially, Cruz’s character reminds us that there was a time and place before the civil war when tolerant attitudes began to take hold, but that the fascist political forces clamped down on them. Liberties disappeared in a flash.
At the moment, “La Bola Negra” is being positioned as one of the primary competitors to Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” for the Best Picture Oscar. Whether or not that’s true, they form an interesting contrast. “The Odyssey” was a massive, expensive undertaking, and one senses that Nolan planned his movie carefully. It was an intellectual challenge to be researched and conquered. “La Bola Negra” is also an epic; its budget was around $15 million, but it looks as if it cost ten times that amount. Obviously, to achieve that impression required planning as well, but unlike “The Odyssey,” a viewer senses that many of the details that pack its frames often come from observation and experience. Nolan is a technical master; Los Javis work by synthesizing what they know and feel.
The evolution of queer cinema is still young enough for a new movie to come along and feel like a milestone. Almost miraculously, given their budget, Los Javis have crafted what I think is the first gay epic. “La Bola Negra” has many ambitions: to re-establish how the queerness of creators like Lorca was an integral part of their artistry; to remember how their sacrifices helped to pave the way for many freedoms we have now; to honor their legacies by protecting and enjoying our rights. In the end, that message is universal: do not squander the opportunity you have been given to live a full life. “La Bola Negra” moved me deeply. At times, it broke my heart, but it also made it swell with pride.
La Bola Negra Directed by: Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo. Written by Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi, Alberto Conejero, and Federico García Lorca. Starring Guitarricadelafuente, Lorenzo Zurzolo, Javier Butler, Teo Lucadamo, and Juan Vergara. Rating: R. Running Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes. Genres: Drama, History, Romance, War.
