El Bola

Pablo, a twelve-year-old known as El Bola, keeps to himself at school, unwilling to let anyone near the home he shares with a violent, domineering father. The arrival of a new classmate, Alfredo, opens a different kind of life to him: a friendship, and a household where warmth and affection are ordinary. That contrast gives Pablo the strength to face what happens behind his own front door.

El Bola is a Spanish drama directed by Achero Mañas, who wrote the screenplay with Verónica Fernández. It was Mañas's first feature, released in 2000, and it runs under an hour and a half. Juan José Ballesta plays Pablo, with Pablo Galán as Alfredo, Manuel Morón as Mariano, Alberto Jiménez as José, Ana Wagener as Laura and Nieve de Medina as Marisa among a credited cast of thirty-five.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7.2 out of 10 from 11 reviews, while on TMDB it averages 7.1 out of 10 from 172 votes, so critics and general viewers rate it at a similar level. Those figures point to a modestly budgeted debut that found a consistent, favourable response from both groups rather than a wide commercial phenomenon.