German filmmaker Edward Berger previously tackled the horrors of WWI with the Oscar-winning international drama “All Quiet On The Western Front,” the politics of the Catholic Church when it comes to choosing a new Pope with “Conclave” nabbing a Best Adapted Screenplay statue, and is now reuniting with Netflix for the upcoming gambling thriller “Ballad of A Small Player” starring Irish actor Colin Farrell.
Netflix shared with us a batch of first-look stills showcasing a sensuous visual sleekness, you’d expect from Berger, alongside beautiful sets attributed to cinematographer James Friend and production designer Jonathan Houlding. That’s not it, as they’ve also announced that the new Berger thriller is heading to theaters this October before its streaming debut.
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Fala Chen (“Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings”), Deanie Ip (“A Simple Life”), Alex Jennings (“A Very Royal Scandal”), and Tilda Swinton (“The Killer”) are among the film’s supporting cast.
An official logline for the pic via Netflix:
When his past and his debts start to catch up with him, a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.
That limited release will see “Ballad of A Small Player” heading to domestic theaters on October 15, in the U.K./Ireland on October 17, and then streaming exclusively on October 29. We have to assume this is designed to help the film’s consideration come award season, as there is a huge expectation that the next Berger film would be in a strong position to get various nominations.
Macau, the film’s setting, is a former Portuguese colony established in the 1800s that was eventually handed over to China in 1999 and has become quite the melting pot of cultures. It currently has a reputation as the Las Vegas of Asia, and because of that, it was used as a locale in the James Bond film “Skyfall” as the MI6 Agent meets up with nefarious characters to collect an assassin’s bounty to move the plot along and discover the film’s villain.
Since then, it felt odd that Hollywood hasn’t seen another big film explore Macau, and that has changed with “A Ballad of A Small Player.” The movie, penned by screenwriter Rowan Joffe, is based on the novel by author Lawrence Osborne.
And with that, you can check out those stunning first-look pics from “Ballad of A Small Player” below.
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