There's little point in attempting to figure why Lance Hammer's "Ballast," the best American film of 2008, was whisked in and out of so few theaters so quickly, in contrast even to minimalist imports and special-interest video docs in the same span, and despite universal critical hosannas. Good films get tossed by the wayside all the time, particularly in the contemporary state of distribution, but the good news is that movies never truly disappear anymore, they just tumble into the digital slipstream and become universally available.
Hammer's uneasy, seething, oblique sojourn to the wintry Mississippi midlands is surely the best American "art film" about African-American life since Julie Dash's "Daughters of the Dust," except it might also be the only such film in 25 years. But "Ballast" is also a piece of work that stands outside social context -- it's as specific as a scar and as approachable as a blues growl.
Hammer's uneasy, seething, oblique sojourn to the wintry Mississippi midlands is surely the best American "art film" about African-American life since Julie Dash's "Daughters of the Dust," except it might also be the only such film in 25 years. But "Ballast" is also a piece of work that stands outside social context -- it's as specific as a scar and as approachable as a blues growl.
- 11/10/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
JimMyron Ross as James and Micheal J. Smith Sr. as Lawrence in Ballast
Photo: Alluvial Film Company Ballast is a film without a flaw and this is in large part due to the fact debut feature writer/director Lance Hammer doesn't allow for one. Hammer, serving as his own editor, has cut together one of the leanest films I have ever seen and he leaves very little fat as I can't imagine a single moment of screen time is wasted. This is a film without a score and if something is seen on screen it exists either to move the story along or evoke some level of emotion or understanding to the viewer. This may seem like an obvious decision on the part of the director, but you tell me the last time you saw a movie with as tight as this without any fluff to be mentioned. Set in a Mississippi Delta township,...
Photo: Alluvial Film Company Ballast is a film without a flaw and this is in large part due to the fact debut feature writer/director Lance Hammer doesn't allow for one. Hammer, serving as his own editor, has cut together one of the leanest films I have ever seen and he leaves very little fat as I can't imagine a single moment of screen time is wasted. This is a film without a score and if something is seen on screen it exists either to move the story along or evoke some level of emotion or understanding to the viewer. This may seem like an obvious decision on the part of the director, but you tell me the last time you saw a movie with as tight as this without any fluff to be mentioned. Set in a Mississippi Delta township,...
- 12/21/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Starring: Micheal J. Smith Sr., JimMyron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail, Ventress Bonner. Director: Lance Hammer Release Date: October 2008 Running Time: 1 hr. 35 min. MPAA Rating: Not rated Distributors: Required Viewing, Seven Films “Ballast” may seem to be set in a place that welcomes turmoil and fragility. First glance at director Lance Hammer’s directorial debut and you may believe that his film takes place in a world that has gone astray. Sunny days don’t exist. Marshlands overtake fresh green grass. Broken down cars remained parked, never to be driven again. This is the Mississippi Delta, a vast, barren and vacuous land that only hinders good deeds. Signs of life can be found, but those lives are usually severed due to the lack of decency found in the lonely Delta. This little town inhabits a fragile, suicidal black man named Laurence, his struggling and financially strapped sister-in-law Marlee and her...
- 11/21/2008
- The Movie Fanatic
On Monday, October 20, Ifp has announced the contenders for the 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards and Lance Hammer-directed drama "Ballast" has dominated the nomination list, taking in 4 separate nods. The movie, which has won the 2008 Sundance Film Festival's Dramatic Directing Award for Hammer, is nominated for Best Feature, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor and Best Ensemble Performance.
In the category of Best Feature, "Ballast" will be up against Courtney Hunt's "Frozen River", Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York", Thomas McCarthy's "The Visitor" and Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler". Meanwhile, for the Best Ensemble Performance category, the film's cast that include Micheal J. Smith Sr. will be competing with "Rachel Getting Married" ensemble led by Anne Hathaway, "Synecdoche" cast led by Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" ensemble, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, and "Visitor" cast led by Richard Jenkins.
Though garnering the most gongs for the 2008 Gotham Awards,...
In the category of Best Feature, "Ballast" will be up against Courtney Hunt's "Frozen River", Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York", Thomas McCarthy's "The Visitor" and Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler". Meanwhile, for the Best Ensemble Performance category, the film's cast that include Micheal J. Smith Sr. will be competing with "Rachel Getting Married" ensemble led by Anne Hathaway, "Synecdoche" cast led by Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" ensemble, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, and "Visitor" cast led by Richard Jenkins.
Though garnering the most gongs for the 2008 Gotham Awards,...
- 10/21/2008
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
By Neil Pedley
At the multiplex this week, we have some pre-Halloween gothic fancy, films about the two things guaranteed to start a fight in any elevator . religion and politics . and a little music from Nick and Norah and Jonathan Demme's infinite playlists.
"Allah Made Me Funny"
When Albert Brooks went looking for comedy in the Muslim world, he perhaps didn't consider that it was alive and well inside our shores. Filmmaker Andrea Kalin picked up her camera and hit the road with Muslim American stand-up comics Azhar Usman, Mo Amer and Preacher Moss, who started the tour in 2004 to combat the negative stereotypes associated with their faith by sharing their unique brand of humor. The film intersperses their routines with personal vignettes that show how the comedians employ laughter as a tool of information to entertain, to educate and to show that a good mother-in-law gag simply knows no boundaries.
At the multiplex this week, we have some pre-Halloween gothic fancy, films about the two things guaranteed to start a fight in any elevator . religion and politics . and a little music from Nick and Norah and Jonathan Demme's infinite playlists.
"Allah Made Me Funny"
When Albert Brooks went looking for comedy in the Muslim world, he perhaps didn't consider that it was alive and well inside our shores. Filmmaker Andrea Kalin picked up her camera and hit the road with Muslim American stand-up comics Azhar Usman, Mo Amer and Preacher Moss, who started the tour in 2004 to combat the negative stereotypes associated with their faith by sharing their unique brand of humor. The film intersperses their routines with personal vignettes that show how the comedians employ laughter as a tool of information to entertain, to educate and to show that a good mother-in-law gag simply knows no boundaries.
- 9/29/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.