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<p>El Bola (2000) </p> <p>A film review by Scott Wood </p> <p>For Critical-film.com </p> <p>&nbsp; </p> <p>I'm finding it difficult lately to be able to express myself as easy as before. I am currently on a movie-watching tirade, and it seems like things are blending into each other faster than I get the chance to review them. “El Bola” is the second in a series of independent foreign cinema that I plan on watching, and it seems like precisely the kind of thing to get me out of my funk. American cinema just doesn't have the ability to feel like this, even though it occasionally tackles the subject matter. </p> <p>&nbsp; </p> <p>“El Bola” is a film about physical and mental child abuse. It is told from a distance, without getting too involved in the character's heads, though it focuses mainly on the child's point of view. For much of the film, it seems as though the abuse is secondary, and plays out much like Danny Boyle's “Millions” of a year ago. But unlike “Millions,” “El Bola” is not a family movie. Its brutal honesty and blunt portrayal of abuse is too unnerving for even most adults. Its early family buddy movie formula juxtaposes the later more unsettling happenings, to create a greater feeling of dread. On top of this, as the movie continues, it almost creates a sense of paranoia and ultimately cynicism, as the people that are trying to help the abused “Pellet” are handcuffed by a political system that unintentionally protects the abusive father. For the child, I can only imagine the frustration, fear, and confusion he must feel when faced with having to go back to his father. </p> <p>&nbsp; </p> <p>The main thing that “El Bola” does right is that it doesn't exaggerate. Its characters have all proper motivations for their actions (even the children in the movie have been all thoroughly well thought out), and the movie never even comes close to the melodrama that is intrinsically intertwined in American film. If “El Bola” was remade in Hollywood , there would be clich&eacute; outbursts, and huge emotional triumphs. These things don't happen in real life, director Achero Manas realizes this, and gives us a more realistic and heartbreaking view of his story. Like “Open Water” the conversations taking place are ones that you would imagine would actually be said in this situation, and the characters all react like normal human beings; not caricatures. </p> <p>&nbsp; </p> <p>The child actors in the film are also particularly worth mention which contrasts greatly with what we demand from our current Dakota Fanning's, and other child actors in North America . Manas does not require his children be “cute,” but instead that they can accurately convey certain emotions. This is a far more ambitious and noteworthy achievement. </p> <p>&nbsp; </p> <p>(Four Stars) </p> <p>&nbsp; </p> <p class="style1">This review was provided in HTML format, as your browser is not capable of displaying flash content. To experience Critical-Film.com the way it was meant to be seen, please download the flash player from <a href="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash&promoid=BIOW">Macromedia</a>.</p>