Friday, January 16, 2026

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - Edifício San Mei On, Rua Três do Bairro da Areia Preta

Out of all the locations in this film, this has probably caused me the most pain to find and it was nice to finally pin it down. Dao-ming lives in an old style tenement with a central courtyard. The taxi drops the pair off on Rua Três do Bairro da Areia Preta and the pair enter the northernmost block of the "San Mei On" buildings. I have no idea how long these places will be around because the images on the internet make them look quite dilapidated. If I make it to Macau this year I will definitley include it on my visit list.

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - Unnamed Side Street by Hotel Fortuna

Following the gambler's suicide (shot in Hong Kong), Dao-ming runs away and leaves via a side street. This time we are back in Macau on an unnamed sidestreet next to the Fortuna. Dao-ming leaves via a exit into this side street of the south side of the hotel and Doyle follows her and flags down a taxi. As I've mentioned before, Streetview imagery in Macau hasn't been updated since 2008 but the imagery shows the same place looking bit scruffier in real life. It's most likely had a bit of a spring clean since 2008 though. In case the location label (auto generated at the bottom of the post) snaps away (edit: yes, it snapped away), this is the small road immediately south of Hotel Fortuna.

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - Windsor House Car Park, Causeway Bay

Doyle briefly catches a glimpse of a man falling past his window as he relaxes in the hotel lounge, and runs down to see what has happened. This is a quick hop to Hong Kong because by the time he gets down to what we think is the ground level of the hotel, we have arrived at a podium carpark at Windsor House in Causeway Bay.

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - Diamond Casino, Macau

Located in the Holiday Inn, Doyle heads there at the beginning of the film, the entrance seemingly being on the same thoroughfare that links Rua de Cantao with Rua de Xangai.

Monday, January 12, 2026

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - Praça de D. Afonso Henriques, Macau

We were in this area just recently for Expired, the common identifier being the Hotel Fortuna neon sign in the top right of the image below. 

I'm sure there are a few more images I can pin to this location but without physically being there, it's hard to get a hold of current locations in Macau thanks to the extremely outdated and relatively poor coverage of Streetview. 

Sunday, January 11, 2026

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - Casino Lisboa, Macau

There are no scenes shot inside Macau's most famous casino, the Lisboa, but we get some nice views of the colourful exterior at a couple of points in the film.

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - Rua de Foshan, Macau

There are a few shots from Rua de Foshan including the bright signage of the Hotel Fortuna which sits prominently on this side of the hotel.

Friday, January 9, 2026

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - The Cotai Strip, Various locations

I've mentioned the colourful cinematography of the film, so it's worth including some of the general establishing shots used, the following being from around the casinos on the Cotai Strip.

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - Rotunda do Istmo, Taipa

Although the film starts with Doyle in his hotel room at the Wynn, the following few minutes is occupied by a montage as Doyle narrates his circumstances. There are lots of views from all over Macau so I thought it would be nice to see them, starting off with this view of the Rotunda do Istmo - the main traffic roundabout at the north end of the Cotai Strip. If this shot looks familiar it might be because it is an almost exact replica of one I posted from the Strangers series several years ago. The only real difference to be seen between then and now is the addition of the faux "Big Ben" in front of "The Londoner" (yes, I know it's not really called Big Ben but as an often part-time resident of Westminster, I have special naming privileges...).