影片以西班牙传奇同志诗人费德里戈·加西亚·洛尔卡一份仅存四页的未竟剧本《黑球》为锚点，用160分钟精妙地编织了一幅叙事三联画：1932年，年轻的卡洛斯（米洛·基菲斯 饰）因为同性恋传闻在精英俱乐部投票中被投下“黑球”拒绝；1937年西班牙内战期间，被迫入伍的国民军小号手塞巴斯蒂安（Guitarricadelafuente 饰）与战俘产生了禁忌之恋；2017年，现代历史学者阿尔伯托试图在一份突然收到的遗嘱中寻找外祖父的秘密。
This terrific coming-of-age film tells a story of growing up largely without parents, of the complex world of becoming an adult when the adults aren’t there. It’s the story of Flavia, autonomous and a bit uncouth; Flavia, whose mother works as a carer in Italy, her father on a construction site. She’s adopted a certain sarcasm she uses even with Luca, with whom she flirts in a cool way; the attraction is strong. Luca’s parents aren’t there either and his grandmother is frail, meaning he is the one more or less taking care of his sister Tina – who brings home two more kids with her one day. Fears of commitment and emotional blocks start to dissolve and, like in an adolescent novel, a self-chosen alternative family forms almost in passing, where living in freedom, critical relationships and taking care of one another are a given. Carried by Andrei Butică’s precise, yet loose-limbed camerawork and atmospheric direction inspired by Pialat and Rohmer, the adolescent ensemble takes on responsibility – and gets in the driving seat. Whether visiting caves in the forest or everyday life in a prefab block: their intelligence and vigour are delightful, the dynamics of their shared bonds subtle.
