Movie Review: Ballad of a Small Player

Over the weekend, I watched quite a strange movie on Netflix. I did not understand the movie in general, and from a recent Google search, the movie is also based on a novel with the same title. As they say, some movies were created for the purpose of entertaining the audience, and there are other movies that keep you in a confused state. Well, the ballad of a small player is cut in between the middle. It is hard to tell if it was confusing, although the ending was quite strange, and I did not know what had just happened. This is the confused state I found myself in after watching this movie. I can wholeheartedly say that the movie will make you question what you have watched.

From the get-go of the movie, you are introduced to a gambler played by Colin Farrell, whom I know from The Penguin. He is a gambler in the hustle of desperation. His hotel bills keep piling up and keep going, mixed with his odd losing streak. That is not what I found odd about the movie, but the dialogue was pretty much off. At one moment you are on with the gambler and the next moment you are introduced in the game, introduced to another person who commits suicide when he cannot pay off his debt. The sense of desperation, and I would not lie, the good acting from Colin kept me going. In my head, I became overwhelmed by the need to understand what is going on in the movie and try to make everything make simple sense in my head.

As you move further in the movie, the mood consumes you into understanding it is not about the gambling but the escape from what he is running from, which is the loss of his identity when he amounts to nothing but losses. The gambler become consume by the debts he owes, and given that he is on the run from the UK, where he had some outstanding issues. A detective from the UK comes all the way to find somewhere in China, gambling on new stakes. It felt like the player kept everything on the line, and you could feel every loss and every win as well whenever it occurred. At some point, it was not about the stakes anymore, but about the need to know he still has some form of relevance in this world. The debt is an added plus to his gambles,, but it goes way beyond that.

Frankly speaking, the movie is not for everyone. Some of it is a bit off, given the gambling, or probably the storyline. Things took a turn when he met the Asian lady who gave me a handout, and that is just the thing, I do not know if that is a handout or not. It was quite difficult to understand that part especilly how things played out for her in the end. Like every game, there is a period when things will get better, and it did for Colin. It became the star and kept going, but in the end, it was not enough when the given purpose or the driving force was no longer available. The questioning of the movie is still in my head, but I cannot deny that I did not feel intrigued. Go check it out.

All Images from IMND

_{I am @samostically, a chess player and writer. I love to share the experience I have gained from different battles over the 64 squares and the knowledgeable insights from books I have read. But most importantly, I am a Midnight Owl and I founded the community Midnight Letters.}

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