The Black Ball Traces 3 Spanish Men Across 85 Years of Repressed Gay Desire
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 21
The Black Ball Traces 3 Spanish Men Across 85 Years of Repressed Gay Desire
6 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 21
Spanning 1932, 1939 and 2017, The Black Ball uses a three-part structure to map how gay identity in Spain was erased, punished or inherited as trauma across generations.
The strongest strand follows Sebastián in 1939, a naïve conscript in Franco’s army who falls for a wounded Republican prisoner after an Italian attack devastates a nationalist village church.
In 1932, Carlos is blackballed from Granada’s elite Casino over rumors of homosexuality, while in 2017 student Alberto receives a bequest that deepens conflict with his mother over a fascist family past.
Pedro Almodóvar produces the film, which the review praises as beautifully acted and shot, though it says explaining the links between the three stories slightly weakens their mystery.
Beyond trauma, how does the film portray queer resilience and joy during Spain's darkest historical periods?
How does this film redefine the legacy of its queer icon, Federico García Lorca?
Does this film's inherited trauma serve as Almodóvar's warning about Europe's political future?