★★★★ (4 out of 4)
Go ahead, start nitpicking. I don’t care. “La Bola Negra” swept me away on ravishing waves of beauty, terror and sexual revolution. Spain’s Oscar entry for Best International Film opens in U.S. theaters Oct. 16 before hitting Netflix on Dec. 2. But why stop at international film? Can this gay epic take down “The Odyssey” for Best Picture? Don’t count it out. In 2017, “Moonlight” broke the queer barrier that “Brokeback Mountain” couldn’t. Two years later, South Korea’s “Parasite” did it for subtitles. We’re on a roll here. OK, Netflix has yet to crack Oscar’s top prize, streaming being the sworn enemy of theatrical presentation. Could “La Bola Negra” be the way in? Why not? I loved it with a passion.