Awards season is approaching. Will this queer Spanish epic upset ‘The Odyssey’?

In Christopher Nolan’s take on “ The Odyssey,” there are several nail-biting scenes in which Trojan soldiers face off against much larger foes, including a towering cyclops and an army of behemoth soldiers. Going into this awards season, “The Odyssey” is shaping up to be that giant, seen as the top contender for Oscar glory in several categories.

Enter a potential giant-slayer. Hitting cinemas on Friday after a rhapsodic run at several major top film festivals, “La Bola Negra” may just be the film to finally win Netflix its long-coveted best picture prize. The streaming giant plans to run the Spanish film for 47 days in theaters prior to its digital platform debut — amounting to an unprecedently long cinematic runway for the company— in the hopes that the movie will charm audiences, critics and Oscar voters.

Hollywood analysts believe “La Bola Negra” may be just the type of sweeping yet tender movie that might turn this awards season into a battle of David vs. Goliath.

“I think they feel that this is as close as they’ve gotten to best picture, kind of maybe ever,” said Kyle Buchanan, the former awards season columnist for the New York Times set to launch his own podcast this month about Hollywood. “Certainly, ‘Roma’ won a lot of Oscars [in 2019], but I think that was a ‘head movie,’ and ‘heart movies’ typically are what prevail at the Oscars. They know they’ve got a ‘heart movie’ with ‘La Bola Negra.’”

On paper, “The Odyssey” and “La Bola Negra” could not be more different. One is a mostly sexless , sword-and-sandal epic with a budget in the hundreds of millions (and a box office of more than $1.7 billion), stacked with top Hollywood stars and helmed by an already Oscar-winning director. The other is a subtitled work of queer yearning and romance made for under $17 million by two Spaniards (and a cast) who are all largely unknown outside their home country. (Glenn Close and Penélope Cruz pop up in smaller roles, with the latter almost stealing the movie in an unforgettable turn as an entertainer of the troops.)

Still, industry observers think “La Bola Negra” may well have the juice needed to go all the way. Clayton Davis, chief awards editor at Variety, has predicted a nomination for the movie, writing that “‘La Bola Negra’ has the chance to rewrite Netflix’s Oscar history.” Similarly, Richard Lawson, former chief critic for Vanity Fair, has said the Spanish film is “right there in the frontrunner pack.”

Directed by creative partners (and former romantic partners ) Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (called ‘Los Javis’ in their native Spain and known to some Americans for their TV series “ Veneno ”), “La Bola Negra” weaves together three stories of queer identity connected to the Spanish Civil War. In the first, a teenage Carlos (Milo Quifes) in 1932 fails to gain membership into a social club, whose members vote against him using a blackball ballot system amid rumors of his homosexuality. In 1937, a young fascist conscript named Sebastián (the mononymous musician Guitarricadelafuente in his debut acting performance) is assigned to guard a wounded Republican prisoner of war (Miguel Bernardeau) to whom he begins feeling drawn. And in 2017, the directionless historian and former playwright Alberto (Carlos González) finds his life upended when he’s left a surprise inheritance from a grandfather he didn’t know he had.

With shades of “Angels in America,” the movie is an ambitious and sumptuous portrait of identity, repression and what gets sacrificed in the long march of history. It’s not necessarily a love story between characters, but a love story to queerness itself. “What do we miss when we deny ourselves?” one character says towards the film’s almost fantastical ending. “Life.”

Described by queer outlet Them as “one of the best LGBTQ+ movies of the century,” the film is inspired by the life and death of gay Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca , who was murdered by fascist forces in 1936 and left behind an unfinished play called “La Bola Negra.” The movie’s 1937 storyline also draws on the 2013 play “La piedra oscura” by Alberto Conejero, with whom Los Javis share a screenwriting credit.

In May, Los Javis shared the best director prize (along with the Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski, director of “Fatherland”) at the Cannes Film Festival, where the movie premiered to a 20-minute standing ovation and was swiftly scooped up by Netflix .

Buchanan recalled covering the festival for the New York Times and “levitating” as he exited a screening of the movie: “Most people came out of that flush with excitement, faces red with tears, and just the feeling of, ‘Oh, finally . This is the movie of the festival, the movie that people are going to want to talk about, the movie that is definitely going to be a major player in the cinematic year.’”

Since then, “La Bola Negra” has only gained speed as it rolled through other festivals, notching audience wins in San Sebastián and Toronto. The latter win bodes particularly well for Netflix’s Oscar hopes. Fourteen of the last 16 TIFF People’s Choice Award winners have scored an Academy Award nod for best picture, with four — “Nomadland,” “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “The King’s Speech” — claiming the top prize altogether. As Spain’s official entry in the international category at the Oscars, the film is favored to win that category, but it may well become the first foreign language movie since “Parasite” to take home the night’s top prize in 2020.

With 10 Best Picture slots up for grabs, other buzzy films seem poised to join the final slate of nominees, like “ Project Haily Mary, ” “The Invite,” “Dune: Part Three” and “Wild Horse Nine,” a movie set for release in November and which stars John Malkovich as a dying CIA officer dispatched to Easter Island in the runup to Chile’s 1973 coup. Other wildcard movies could include “Artificial,” Luca Guadagnino’s movie on OpenAI, or even Nathan Fielder’s surreal documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, “You Can See Everything.” (Although it was dubbed “the movie of the year” by New York magazine , “You Can See Everything” still faces long odds as no documentary has ever been nominated in the top category.)

Searchlight Pictures

Malkovich, a two-time Oscar nominee, is seen as an early favorite to win the best actor prize, although Andrew Scott in “Elsinore,” Robert Pattinson in “ Primetime ,” and Matt Damon in “The Odyssey” are all also on the hunt for their first acting wins.

For best actress, analysts have positioned Julianne Moore as the odds-on favorite to take home a second Oscar for her turn in the comedy “The Debut,” in which she plays a meek mother who finds herself in the world of community theater. Inde Navarrette, star of the runaway hit “ Obsession ,” also seems poised to earn her first-ever nomination.

The cast of “La Bola Negra” will all compete in the supporting categories, with Guitarricadelafuente and Cruz seen as the film’s best chances. Thanks to a recent change in Academy rules , Cruz could potentially be nominated twice in the same category, should voters want to also recognize her celebrated turn in “The Invite.”

Buchanan said he expects Oscar voters will be charmed by the charisma of the “La Bola Negra” directors and ensemble when campaigning begins in earnest, but given Nolan’s stature in Hollywood and the enormous box office success of “The Odyssey” he believes the Spanish film remains an underdog. “It’s going to be hard to topple ‘The Odyssey,’ but what ‘La Bola Negra’ has a chance to do is rack up a lot of the same nominations and give that movie a run for its money in most categories — and eke out some of those wins,” he said.

在克里斯托弗·诺兰执导的《奥德赛》中，有几场扣人心弦的场景，特洛伊士兵与体型远大于自身的敌人展开殊死搏斗，其中包括高耸入云的独眼巨人以及一支由巨型士兵组成的军队。进入本届颁奖季，《奥德赛》也展现出其强大的实力，被视为多个奥斯卡奖项的有力竞争者。

一部有望成为“巨人杀手”的影片即将登场。在各大顶级电影节上获得热烈反响后，《黑球》（La Bola Negra）将于本周五登陆各大影院，它或许能最终为Netflix赢得梦寐以求的最佳影片奖。这家流媒体巨头计划在影片上线数字平台之前，先在影院放映这部西班牙电影47天——这对于Netflix来说，无疑是一次前所未有的漫长放映期——希望这部电影能够赢得观众、影评人和奥斯卡评委的青睐。

好莱坞分析人士认为，《黑球》或许正是那种气势恢宏又温柔细腻的电影，可能会让今年的颁奖季变成一场大卫与歌利亚之战。

“我觉得他们觉得这部电影离最佳影片奖最近，或许是他们有史以来最接近的一次，”《纽约时报》前颁奖季专栏作家凯尔·布坎南说道，他本月即将推出自己的好莱坞播客节目。“当然，《罗马》在2019年赢得了许多奥斯卡奖，但我认为那是一部‘理性电影’，而奥斯卡奖通常更青睐‘感性电影’。他们知道《黑球》是一部‘感性电影’。”

从表面上看，《奥德赛》和《黑球》截然不同。前者是一部几乎没有性爱场面的剑与凉鞋史诗巨作，预算高达数亿美元（票房超过17亿美元），汇集了众多好莱坞一线明星，并由一位已获奥斯卡奖的导演执导。后者则是一部讲述同性恋情愫与浪漫的影片，由两位西班牙人（以及一群在西班牙以外鲜为人知的演员）执导，成本不到1700万美元，并配有字幕。（格伦·克洛斯和佩内洛普·克鲁兹在片中客串出演，其中克鲁兹饰演的慰问军官几乎抢尽风头，令人难忘。）

尽管如此，业内人士认为《黑球》很有可能最终胜出。《综艺》杂志首席颁奖编辑克莱顿·戴维斯预测该片将获得提名，他写道：“《黑球》有机会改写Netflix的奥斯卡历史。” 同样，《名利场》杂志前首席影评人理查德·劳森也表示，这部西班牙电影“绝对是领跑者之一”。

由创作搭档（也是前任恋人）哈维尔·卡尔沃和哈维尔·安布罗西（在他们的祖国西班牙被称为“Los Javis”，一些美国人因他们的电视剧《毒药》而认识他们）执导的《黑球》交织了三个与西班牙内战相关的酷儿身份认同故事。第一个故事讲述的是1932年，少年卡洛斯（米洛·奎费斯饰）未能加入一个社交俱乐部，俱乐部成员在他同性恋的传闻甚嚣尘上之际，用黑球投票制度否决了他的入会申​​请。1937年，一名名叫塞巴斯蒂安（由音乐家吉他手Guitarricadelafuente首次出演）的年轻法西斯应征入伍者被指派看守一名受伤的共和军战俘（米格尔·贝尔纳多饰），他开始对这名战俘产生好感。 2017 年，漫无目的的历史学家兼前剧作家阿尔贝托（卡洛斯·冈萨雷斯饰）的生活发生了翻天覆地的变化，他意外地继承了一位素未谋面的祖父的遗产。

这部电影带有《天使在美国》的影子，它雄心勃勃、气势恢宏地描绘了身份认同、压抑以及在漫长的历史进程中人们所牺牲的一切。它并非讲述人物之间的爱情故事，而是歌颂酷儿身份本身。“当我们否定自我时，我们会错过什么？”影片近乎奇幻的结尾处，一个角色问道，“生命。”

这部被酷儿媒体《Them》誉为“本世纪最佳LGBTQ+电影之一”的影片，灵感源自西班牙同性恋诗人兼剧作家费德里科·加西亚·洛尔卡的生平。洛尔卡于1936年被法西斯势力杀害，留下了一部未完成的剧作《黑球》（La Bola Negra）。影片1937年的故事背景也借鉴了阿尔贝托·科内赫罗2013年的剧作《暗石》（La piedra oscura），洛斯·哈维斯剧团与科内赫罗共同担任了本片的编剧。

5 月，洛斯·哈维斯与波兰电影人帕维尔·帕夫利科夫斯基（《祖国》的导演）共同获得了戛纳电影节最佳导演奖。该片在戛纳电影节首映时获得了 20 分钟的起立鼓掌，并迅速被 Netflix 收购。

布坎南回忆起他为《纽约时报》报道电影节时，看完这部电影走出放映厅时“飘飘然”的心情：“大多数人走出放映厅时都激动​​不已，脸涨得通红，热泪盈眶，感觉就像是，‘哦，终于……这就是电影节的明星电影，人们会津津乐道的电影，绝对会成为今年电影界的一大亮点。’”

此后，《黑球》一路高歌猛进，在其他电影节上斩获殊荣，包括圣塞巴斯蒂安电影节和多伦多电影节的观众选择奖。后者的胜利尤其预示着Netflix冲击奥斯卡的希望大增。过去16届多伦多国际电影节观众选择奖得主中，有14部影片最终获得奥斯卡最佳影片提名，其中四部——《无依之地》、《绿皮书》、《为奴十二年》和《国王的演讲》——更是荣膺该奖项。作为西班牙角逐奥斯卡最佳国际影片奖的官方代表，《黑球》被视为该奖项的热门之选，但它也极有可能成为自《寄生虫》之后，2020年首部摘得奥斯卡最佳影片桂冠的外语片。

十部最佳影片提名名单即将揭晓，其他一些备受瞩目的影片似乎也有望加入最终的提名名单，例如《海莉·玛丽计划》（Project Haily Mary）、《邀请函》（The Invite）、《沙丘3》（Dune: Part Three）以及将于11月上映的《野马九号》（Wild Horse Nine）。《野马九号》由约翰·马尔科维奇主演，讲述了一位身患绝症的中央情报局特工在1973年智利政变前夕被派往复活节岛的故事。其他可能入围的影片还包括卢卡·瓜达尼诺执导的关于OpenAI的纪录片《人工》（Artificial），以及内森·菲尔德关于伊丽莎白·霍姆斯的超现实主义纪录片《你能看到一切》（You Can See Everything）。（尽管《纽约》杂志称其为“年度最佳影片”，但《你能看到一切》的胜算仍然渺茫，因为此前从未有纪录片获得过最佳影片提名。）

探照灯影业

曾两次获得奥斯卡提名的马尔科维奇被视为最佳男主角奖的早期热门人选，尽管安德鲁·斯科特在《埃尔西诺》、罗伯特·帕丁森在《黄金时段》以及马特·达蒙在《奥德赛》中也都在争夺他们的第一个表演奖项。

分析人士普遍认为，朱丽安·摩尔凭借在喜剧片《初次登台》中的出色表演，极有可能第二次捧得小金人。她在片中饰演一位性格温顺的母亲，意外闯入了社区剧院的世界。而凭借热门影片《迷情记》走红的英迪·纳瓦雷特也有望首次获得奥斯卡提名。

《黑球》的全体演员都将角逐最佳男女配角奖，其中吉塔里卡德拉富恩特和克鲁兹被视为该片最有希望获奖的两位。由于奥斯卡规则最近有所改变，如果评委们也想表彰克鲁兹在《邀请》中的出色表演，她有可能在同一奖项中获得两次提名。

布坎南表示，他预计奥斯卡评委们会在正式拉票时被《黑球》导演和全体演员的魅力所吸引，但考虑到诺兰在好莱坞的地位以及《奥德赛》的巨大票房成功，他认为这部西班牙电影仍然是弱势一方。“要撼动《奥德赛》的地位很难，但《黑球》有机会获得许多相同的提名，并在大多数奖项类别中与《奥德赛》一较高下——甚至最终赢得一些奖项，”他说道。