Conclave director Edward Berger is a long way from the hallowed halls of the Vatican in his new film, a surreal neon noir following a down-and-out gambler through the casinos of Macau.

Ballad of a Small Player tells the story of Lord Doyle, a dapper aristocrat who seems to have misplaced his silver spoon. When we meet him, the walls are already closing in: the hotel is demanding he pays his astronomical bill, his lines of credit have been cut and he can’t even use the in-house limo anymore.

Doyle is an addict in the broadest sense, a man with a hole at the centre of his being that he’s forever trying to fill. He sucks on bottles of stolen champagne, devours obscene amounts of food and hustles for money to fund the one big bet that just might change his fortunes.

A metaphysical streak

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