Ballad of a Small Player

Name: Ballad of a Small Player
Genre: Drama
Released: 2025-10-15
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 1.5
Cast: Jason Tobin, Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Adrienne Lau, Deanie Ip

Rating

1.5 (1)

Release Date

10/15/2025

Runtime

102 mins

Genres

Drama

Overview

A high-stakes gambler decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.

Status

Released

Original Language

English

Budget

Revenue

Homepage

Visit

How It Feels

Read from this film's synopsis, keywords and credits, and used to work out what it sits beside.

A haunting portrait of a man adrift in Macau's glittering underworld, searching for escape from himself. The film moves with the slow, hypnotic rhythm of chance itself, where connection becomes as intoxicating as the gamble.

Mood

MelancholicWistfulUnsettlingContemplative

Themes

AddictionRedemptionIsolationObsessionMortality

Tone

Bleak

Pacing

Slow-burn

Look

Neon-drenchedNaturalistic

Structure

Two-hander

Heads up

Addiction

Colin Farrell

Lord Doyle

Fala Chen

Dao Ming

Tilda Swinton

Cynthia Blithe

Deanie Ip

Alex Jennings

Jason Tobin

Adrienne Lau

Casino Manager

Reviews

nicolascagegoons

Aug 27, 2026

Basically all the problems with conclave are present here but far worse. The editing and score is genuinely so boring and while i don't think the editing is as bad as that in conclave, it still so boring to look at.
Also, the lighting in some scenes is genuinely bad.
Colin farrel gives a good performance but his and the other characters feel all over the place. Whats the main theme here? What is berger trying to do? It feels like they flip flop all over the place and forget half of the time.