Continuing with my journey of finding good movies on Netflix, I came across another good one called Ballad of a Small Player. I went into Ballad of a Small Player after watching the trailer looking forward to badass gambling movie and got that and even more. The movie goes into the highs and lows of gambling addiction and solely depending on a high risk way of making money with everything on the line.
Ballad of a Small Player is a cool gambling movie on the surface, but the more I watched it the more I realized itās gonna be one of those movies with a few different alternate theories about whatās going on in the film. Especially the endingā¦
Without giving away too much, the main character is a gambling addict living life on the run in a foreign country. He goes through health issues and delusions due to stress and the weight of the consequences of his past actions. He depends on gambling and other nefarious means to try to escape the upcoming punishment of his past decisions and gain redemption with as many people as he can.
Throughout the movie, the main character comes off as a slick talking, ladies man, with a high risk tolerance thatās forced to lean on his conning ways to get through tough situations due to not having many other positive attributes to help him overcome challenges.
But somehow through it all, he gets people on his side rooting for him along the way.
Aside from the main character the supporting cast in the movie was really good as well. Thereās an old lady in the movie, Grandma, thatās pretty funny in her scenes throughout the movie. And the love interest of the main character is interesting as well.
Most of the movie takes place in Macau, a region of China that has been called āThe Vegas of Chinaā. And due to the setting, the plot of Ballad of a Small Player is heavily influenced by Chinese culture.
The characters, the setting, and the plot all come together to make for a solid movie. Ballad of a Small Player does go into some deep topics like addiction and suicide, but address those things showing how perseverance and belief in yourself can be a path to redemption in the face of tough situations. I found myself rooting for the main character of the film even with all of his flaws and I think a lot of others would feel the same way.
Overall, I think Ballad of a Small Player is a good movie to check out, especially on a day were youāre bored at home with no plans of getting out. I rate the movie Ballad of a Small Player