Ballast
2008
Ballast is a 2008 film directed by Lance Hammer. It competed in the Dramatic category at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography.[1][2] The film received six nominations at the 24th Independent Spirit Awards.[3]
The film opens with a local man driving to the home of Lawrence and Darius, twin brothers who operate a local store. Upon entering the home, the man discovers Darius dead in his bedroom with Lawrence sitting on the couch unable to speak. Lawrence then walks to a neighboring property and shoots himself in the chest, which he survives. In the hospital, it is revealed that Darius committed suicide. Depressed and unable to return to the store he owns, Lawrence spends his days at the property he shared with his brother. Meanwhile, James, Darius' estranged pubescent son, steals Lawrence's gun and holds him at gunpoint for money to buy crack. After a failing to repay debts to his drug dealer, James and his mother, Marlee, are targeted in a drive-by assault. Unable to return home, Marlee confronts Lawrence about Darius leaving her and James many years prior and moves into Darius' vacant apartment. After she is fired from her job as a cleaner, James convinces Lawrence to buy them food, which he does. Bound by these numerous tragedies, the trio form a de facto family, determined to move forward, starting with Marlee convincing Lawrence to let her run the store. The pair loosely decides to raise James together, beginning with a shared homeschooling schedule to keep James away from the negative influences that led him to drugs in the first place. The film ends when Lawrence discovers that ammunition is missing. He confronts James, fearing he has found himself another gun, only to find that James had thrown the bullets into a stream, to prevent Lawrence from attempting to harm himself again.
Ballast received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a "fresh" 93% approval rating based on 80 reviews. The site’s critics consensus reads, "A searing debut by director Lance Hammer, this subtle and contemplative Mississippi set drama lingers long after its conclusion."[4] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four, saying the film "inexorably grows and deepens and gathers power and absorbs us."[5] He later named it as one of the 20 best films of 2008.[6]
It was nominated for six Independent Spirit Awards in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Female Lead (Tara Riggs), Best Supporting Male (Jim Myron Ross), Best First Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.[7]
The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008.[8]
Kinostart: | 2008 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
weitere Titel: |
| ||||
Genre: | Independent-Film | ||||
Herstellungsland: | Vereinigte Staaten | ||||
Originalsprache: | Englisch | ||||
IMDB: | 2415 |
Regie: | Lance Hammer | |
Drehbuch: | Lance Hammer | |
Kamera: | Lol Crawley | |
Schnitt: | Lance Hammer | |
Produzent: | Andrew Adamson | |
Mark Johnson |
Wenn Sie diese Daten spenden möchten, dann wenden Sie sich gerne an uns.
Rezensionen:
2009 | IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festiva Grand Prize City of Lisbon | Gewinner |
2009 | Independent Spirit Awards Independent Spirit Award Best Feature | Nominiert |
2009 | Independent Spirit Awards Independent Spirit Award Best Female Lead | Nominiert |
2009 | Independent Spirit Awards Independent Spirit Award Best Supporting Male | Nominiert |
2009 | Independent Spirit Awards Independent Spirit Award Best Director | Nominiert |
2009 | Independent Spirit Awards Independent Spirit Award Best First Screenplay | Nominiert |
2009 | Independent Spirit Awards Independent Spirit Award Best Cinematography | Nominiert |
2009 | Image Awards Image Award Outstanding Independent Motion Picture | Nominiert |
2008 | Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent SIGNIS Award | Gewinner |
2008 | Deauville Film Festival Revelations Prize | Gewinner |
2008 | Durban International Film Festival Best Direction | Gewinner |
2008 | Gijón International Film Festival Best Actress | Gewinner |
2008 | Gotham Awards Gotham Independent Film Award Breakthrough Director | Gewinner |
2008 | Indiewire Critics' Poll ICP Award Best First Feature | Gewinner |
2008 | Ljubljana International Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize | Gewinner |
2008 | Sundance Film Festival Directing Award Dramatic | Gewinner |
2008 | Toronto Film Critics Association Awards TFCA Award Best First Feature | Gewinner |
2008 | Village Voice Film Poll VVFP Award Best First Feature | Gewinner |
2008 | Women Film Critics Circle Awards Josephine Baker Award | Gewinner |
2008 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists EDA Award Best Writing, Original Screenplay | Nominiert |
2008 | Berlinale Golden Berlin Bear | Nominiert |
2008 | Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Best Film | Nominiert |
2008 | Chicago Film Critics Association Awards CFCA Award Most Promising Filmmaker | Nominiert |
2008 | Chicago International Film Festival Gold Hugo New Directors Competition | Nominiert |
2008 | Deauville Film Festival Grand Special Prize | Nominiert |
2008 | Gijón International Film Festival Grand Prix Asturias | Nominiert |
2008 | Gotham Awards Gotham Independent Film Award Best Feature | Nominiert |
2008 | Gotham Awards Gotham Independent Film Award Best Ensemble Performance | Nominiert |
2008 | Gotham Awards Gotham Independent Film Award Breakthrough Actor | Nominiert |
2008 | Jeonju Film Festival Woosuk Award International Competition | Nominiert |
2008 | New York Film Critics Circle Awards NYFCC Award Best First Film | Nominiert |
2008 | Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Dramatic | Nominiert |
2008 | Zurich Film Festival Golden Eye Best Debut | Nominiert |