Los Javis talk “La bola negra” at the Riviera Theatre

Santa Barbara’s Riviera Theatre hosted an early screening of Spain’s official selection for Best International Feature at the 99th Academy Awards, “La bola negra,” on Oct. 2, ahead of its theatrical release in the U.S. The film was followed by a Q&A conversation with Santa Barbara International Film Festival Executive Director Roger Durling and the writers and directors of “La bola negra,” Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, jointly known as “Los Javis.” 

The Review

“La bola negra” tells the story of three separate queer men across three seemingly separate time periods: 1932, 1937 and 2017. Carlos (Milo Quifes), a young man living in 1932 Granada, is blackballed from joining a prestigious social club because of his rumored homosexuality, with each of the members using a black ball (“La bola negra”) to cast their vote against him. 

This section of the narrative is based upon a real incomplete Spanish play from the 1930s by Federico García Lorca, also called “La bola negra,” which contained only four pages. Not only did these four pages inspire the film’s directors to build upon this story, but it also plays a crucial role within the film itself. 

In the 1937 time period, as the Spanish Civil War takes place, a young trumpeter Sebastián manages to survive an attack on his village by Italian forces. Portrayed by Spanish singer Guitarricadelafuente in his acting debut, Sebastián not only finds himself being forced into the Spanish Nationalist army to survive, but also finds himself quietly falling in love with the prisoner he has been assigned to watch, Rafael (Miguel Bernardeau). 

Guitarricadelafuente delivers one of the most authentic and heartbreaking performances of the year. Sebastián holds a very particular sense of sorrow to him as he is unable to love the man that he loves, with Guitarricadelafuente encapsulating a quiet sadness and regret nearly every time he is on screen. Bernardeau also manages to imbue his mostly restrained performance with layered subtlety and near-silent emotion. The relationship between these two characters is the true heart of “La bola negra.”

Nené Romero, an extravagant cuplétista and dancer entertaining the Spanish troops, is portrayed brilliantly by Penélope Cruz. The character welcomes a lighthearted burst of theatrical fun, while also paving way for the personal journey of Sebastián and his identity. 

Cruz previously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2009 for her film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and is now receiving major critical acclaim for her performance in “La bola negra,” despite appearing in only three brief, yet crucial, scenes. This sequence serves the purpose of shifting away from the film’s darker tones, allowing the audience to be caught within the mesmerizing spectacle of Cruz for a few short moments. However, Cruz and the film as a whole are ultimately pulled back into a tragic reality as the Nationalist soldiers she has sought to entertain begin to lose control of themselves. It’s a short role, but a memorable one, with Cruz making every second count as she essentially embodies the nature of “La bola negra.”

Carlos González leads the 2017 timeline portraying Alberto, a gay historian and playwright who is constantly at odds with his mentally troubled, drug-addicted mother Teresa, who is beautifully and thoughtfully portrayed by Lola Dueñas. When the maternal grandfather he never knew dies, Alberto goes on an ultimately self-reflective journey to uncover what has been left to him. With the help of Isabelle Durand (Glenn Close), he learns about and unveils the hidden truth of what he has inherited.

“La bola negra” employs masterful editing with all three timelines working together, each unfolding in a nonlinear fashion side-by-side. The frequent transitions feel both seamless and startling, with flawless production design, impeccable sound design and breathtaking cinematography aiding in the visual creation of three narrative “worlds” that are each distinct and unique. 

The handling of filmic temporality in a nonlinear fashion as well as the colossal scope of the story is part of what makes it such a grandiose, larger-than-life epic; while the narrative reveals itself slowly, there is never a dull or unremarkable moment. Once the “separate” timelines become interconnected with one another, they reveal how the past reverberates through the present and shapes the individual characters’ identities, pain and inheritance. It is an excavation of queer history that has quite literally been hidden away and lost to time. 

“La bola negra” is not only a politically and socially poignant film full of love from all filmmakers involved, but it is also a completely original and unforgettable experience that offers the viewer a profound sense of catharsis. 

The Interview

As the film came to a close, Durling introduced Calvo and Ambrossi. They were greeted with a standing ovation from the crowd, which Durling referred to as the “longest in Riviera Theatre’s history.” 

Calvo and Ambrossi, who jointly won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director in May, discussed the film’s source material: the synonymous, unfinished play. Ambrossi elaborated on the process of trying to learn more about the incomplete manuscript, feeling as though he was operating as a “detective”: analyzing letters and getting to look at the real four pages of “La bola negra” to try and uncover what they could. 

The director duo explained how the first two pages were simply sheets of characters meant to be in the story and how that influenced them when writing the film. One character listed in the artifact was “the snow.” As a result, the snow (or “la nieve”) is a major thematic element within the movie, serving as a motif in Carlos’ story, representing what has been lost.

The film was not only inspired by the play of the same name, but another Spanish theatrical piece titled “La piedra oscura.” This unrelated play featured the story of Sebastián and Rafael, but Calvo stated that it lacked any of the homoeroticism that is portrayed in the film. “La piedra oscura” was written by Alberto Conejero, who co-wrote “La bola negra” with Los Javis. 

When discussing Cruz’s involvement in the film, Calvo explained that her scenes contained some authenticity to them; no rehearsals were held with Cruz and the background actors in the sequence (most were not told who would be playing Nené’s character) so that they would be unaware of her sudden appearance on set. The shock and delight of the spectating extras were real reactions as they were unexpectedly greeted by Penélope Cruz. 

Ambrossi recalled telling Cruz that she could slap one of the extras for the scene despite not rehearsing with the actor. When Cruz hesitated, he assured her that the actor she would be striking had already stated beforehand that “it would be an honor” to be slapped by her. 

In regards to the film’s ensemble that is made up entirely by undeniably perfect casting choices that feel so authentic to the characters, Los Javis discussed their commitment to hiring real queer actors to play queer characters. Calvo discussed his own past experiences as a gay actor and how it was difficult to find work.

“Straight actors want to play gay characters, and I get that because they are actors,” Ambrossi said, “but not in my movies.” 

When Durling asked what the directors wanted the audience to take away from “La bola negra,” Calvo took a second to think of an answer. “You know the feeling when you get into the movie, and you feel something collectively, and like something has changed,” he began. “So, if you feel a little bit changed by this movie, then I guess that our gay magic is done here.” 

“I want people to have the feeling that we are all the same. […] We are part of the same experience,” Ambrossi answered. “Hopefully we understand that, and embrace that.” 

They have certainly achieved that. The emotionally honest and deeply personal story gives the film a universal resonance. 

Calvo and Ambrossi’s work is worthy of all the critical acclaim that they have already received. It’s thoughtful, heartfelt work and without them at the helm, “La bola negra” certainly would not have become the movie it became. Through their work, they have created a film that will ripple through the panels of cinema history for years to come. 

Rating: 10/10.  

“La bola negra” will begin screening at SBIFF’s Film Center starting Oct. 30. After a brief theatrical run, the film will be released on Netflix on Dec. 2, 2026. 

This article appeared in the Oct. 8 print edition of the Daily Nexus.