El Bola

Known to his pals as El Bola ('Pellet'), 12-year-old Pablo (Ballesta) is pretty much a loner. He's tough enough not to get bullied, but he doesn't mix much at school, and generally appears wary of upsetting his disciplinarian dad, who insists the boy lend a hand in his hardware store. So hanging out with Alfredo (Galán), a new pupil whom the other kids are keen to keep at arm's length, is a welcome development, albeit with its pros and cons. El Bola not only gets on with Alfredo, he also likes his parents; and yet, his dad is none too impressed by Alfredo's trendy tattooist father (Jiménez), threatening to put a stop to the new friendship. At first, Mañas' assured, award-winning feature debut feels like one of those Spanish films where the complexities of the adult world are presented through the innocent eyes of a child, only to turn out slightly more unusual than that and, regrettably, slightly more predictable. Schematic, didactic and clichéd it might be, but the performers give good value, especially the engagingly uncute kids.