An intriguing documentary on the concept of national identity of the Basque people, The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone ruminates on the nationalistic traditions of this beleaguered part of Spanish life. Best known for his erotically charged drama, Sex and Lucia (2002), director Javier Medem asks some difficult questions in his documentary, especially regarding the long held view of the Basque people that they are entitled to their own independent state. Refusing to cede to reactionary viewpoints, he presents a thoughtful mediation on the nature of Basque nationalism, and even though his sympathies are clearly with the marginalized of the region, he never allows them to over cloud his judgements.
On the downside, since there is about a zillion interviews and thousands of images from archive sources, there is a touch too much going on in The Basque Ball, and Medem perhaps should not have been so ambitious with his subject matter. But even if you find yourself a little lost on occasion, Medem's search for the truth is so passionate that it compensates.
