IndieWire

‘The Black Ball’ Review: Los Javis’ Era-Spanning Monument to Gay Storytellers Is a Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Cannes: Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi blend real and imaginary people in this Lorca-inspired ode to love stories buried by Spanish history. “The Black Ball” comprises a neorealist tale of a ...
Variety

‘The Black Ball’ Review: The Spirit of Lorca Binds Gay Men Across a Century in an Ambitious but Distended Drama

Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi's Cannes competition entry is part literary mystery and part queer elegy, lyrical in patches and turgid in others. Something of a wild card entry in this ...
Variety

Penelope Cruz Lights up Los Javis’ Queer García Lorca Epic ‘The Black Ball,’ Earning 16-Minute Cannes Ovation

Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo’s “The Black Ball” (La Bola Negra) a queer epic spanning 85 years of Spanish history and inspired by an unfinished fragment by Federico García Lorca, premiered in ...
The Harvard Crimson

From Cannes: ‘The Black Ball’ Is a Bold and Explosive Tale of Love and War

Cannes Best Director winners Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s “The Black Ball” (“La Bola Negra”) is a staggering artistic accomplishment. The original story follows three generations of gay men — ...
The Hollywood Reporter

‘The Black Ball’ Review: Vivid, Sweeping Epic About Gay Men in War-Torn Spain Is a Major Cannes Standout

‘Veneno’ creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo direct this stunning drama about lovers and friends caught in the tempest of history, featuring Penelope Cruz and Glenn Close in supporting roles. By ...