During my fall break at home, “La Bola Negra” (2026) ads bombarded my Instagram and TikTok “For You” page. Every scroll promised a new ad or movie-lover saying this film was going to challenge Nolan’s “The Odyssey” (2026). Cannes Best Directors award and compliments aside, the trailer’s editing and sirenical song — haunting me still — drove me to make the voyage to see it.
With nothing to do that Thursday, I planned to see the film during its early release in select major cities. The Burbank AMC was the “closest” theater with showtimes. I booked the 2 p.m. because it was the cheapest. The day of my outing, I staked out under the searing sun at 11:30 a.m. for the Line 70 bus. I had no desire to drive on the five freeway. “But the five freeway’s traffic is not terrible in the afternoon.” You got me there. Gas prices aside, a $3.50 (total cost) two hour bus ride, split between two buses, sounded out-of-the-ordinary and even more exciting.
I went from Rosemead to Monterey Park and Boyle Heights, and then into LA city. Transferring onto the Line 92 bus, I climbed up the hills, where the warm winds picked up palm leaves, passing the Americana and Glendale Galleria. From the Burbank Towncenter bus stop, it was a short walk to the AMC.
I was quite late. My prayers to the AMC ads holding out during the bus ride were to no avail. Nevertheless, I got my usual AMC soda at concessions. Where else can I find these soda dispensers?
Once in, I placed my drink in the seat cup holder, held my popcorn in hand, and got comfortable on the reclinable red-leather chairs. A loud Grindr notification pings in the abyss. Was that someone’s phone? No! It was from the film.
“La Bola Negra” is a film about queer love and the entanglement of a country’s history and a person’s family history. Shot on Kodak film, the narrative traverses three different worlds set in Spain. Two of them are past and present depictions of the actual world: Civil War era and modern-day Spain. The third is a fictional world, imagined from a play, also sharing the same title as the film, “La Bola Negra.”
In the 1937 Civil War timeline, audiences follow protagonists Sebastián (Álvaro Lafuente Calvo, known professionally as Guitarricadelafuente) and Rafael Rodríguez Rapún (Miguel Bernardeau). Many viewers may know Guitarrica for his music. Even as an actor, his musical background is utilized when portraying Sebastián: a nationalist-fascist soldier who knows how to play a trumpet better than firing a gun. Guitarrica also sings the film’s original song, “La Nieve.” Bernardeau — who people might recognize as Guzman from “Elite” — plays Rafael, a Republican soldier captured and hospitalized by his enemy, the nationalist-fascist. This incident results in Sebastián being stationed to observe and extract information from him. Over their limited time together, the two come to know each other beyond their roles as soldiers. It is also in this timeline that audiences are introduced to Nené Romero (Penélope Cruz), a traveling cupletista cabaret singer. Her short screen time had a lasting impression on the narrative. Together, their characters tell the stories of individuals who get caught in war. When their focus is on survival, they are not able to be their true selves.
The 2017 timeline follows Alberto (Carlos González), the grandchild of Sebastián and a historian who is working on his research — how Swattie! While his relationship with his mom, Teresa (Lola Dueñas), is shaky, he has a supportive boyfriend, Juan (Julio Torres). Alberto’s world begins to change when he gets a sudden inheritance from his deceased grandfather, whom neither mom nor son were close to. Tracing the “paper trail” of what was left behind to him, Alberto goes on a quest to uncover and confront unknown family history.
In the third world, a theater play, Carlos (Milo Quifes) is a young man trying to join a casino group in Granada, Spain. His membership is decided by a vote using white balls for acceptance and black balls for rejection. He is rejected because he is homosexual. Dealing with this and facing his family, he is in conflict over what he has to choose in life.
A big part of the film is based on Spanish writer, playwright, and poet Federico García Lorca’s real play “La Bola Negra.” In both the film and the play, homosexuality is a central focus. Unfortunately, García Lorca’s play was unfinished because of his 1936 assassination. Only four pages of the play were created.
The film builds on García Lorca’s incomplete work, situating its narrative in a universe where the play was completed and rediscovered. Through its unearthing, it simultaneously digs up the buried roots of Spain’s history. At its center are the “buried love stories” that García Lorca says we must “scratch the earth” for so more can exist. Being interconnected with family roots, they implore audiences to reevaluate their own relationship with the world.
“La Bola Negra” bounces between the three worlds. The cuts and transitions were sharp. Its parallel editing fueled the simultaneity and suspense of each story. Right when our eyes rode on the coaster to an important moment in one world, the screen transported us away. The impermanence and uncontrolled hold on the screen somewhat mirror our visualization of history. That is why the film focuses on the individuals, the players and anchors of history. There was one beautiful line that I wrote down after the film: “History isn’t much about the facts. It’s about the personalities and individual stories that make these facts.” I forgot who said it, but it tied in with one of the film’s big themes: the individual’s role in furthering and healing their relationships, especially with history.
The tether separating these three worlds shortened as the film approached its end, amplifying the emotions from each. Paired with the soundtrack, the emotions climbed up to an Everest. It also added to the textuality and cultural significance of the events in each timeline. Character dialogue was crucial in exploring an individual’s voice during civil unrest, and how words can resonate beyond the temporal existence of their originator. Even in silence, the scenes were beautiful. They felt more tender and sometimes jarring.
After sitting for what felt like far less than its real runtime of two hours and 40 minutes, I left enraptured. Despite not speaking Spanish and only reading the English subtitles, many moments still resonated with me. Compared to other films, “La Bola Negra” was refreshing, possibly because it was not made by a U.S. film studio.
However, its attempt to finish García Lorca’s play “La Bola Negra” felt incomplete — not necessarily negatively, but rather hopefully. What I took away from the film was that viewers have a role after watching or reading a work. The curtain may close, but our stories, like theater lights, are only starting up again. We take the meaning with us by writing the rest of the story in our minds. From there, we change our physical existence. If the directors, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (Los Javis), can create a marvel with four pages, we can create even more.
As Isabelle (Glenn Close) puts it, “La Bola Negra” is a play about a choice. While the characters and historical figures no longer have the choice, we still do! We sit in theaters and hear Nicole Kidman say, “somehow heartbreak feels good in a place like this,” knowing that at the end, we can still love who we love. That is worth getting up to exercise and fight for. This film made me want to live and love who I love. In today’s time, the ability to love and the action of giving it is needed more than ever.
This is why I have not shut up about this film ever since I came back from fall break. I probably never will. Rewatching it has been on my to-do list since it was released in Pennsylvania theaters this week. You will see me “roll” up to the theaters for “La Bola Negra.” I will not wait until Dec. 2 for its Netflix release. This work of art is best enjoyed on the big screen with a large sound system. Do not drop the ball, because this film certainly does not.
