BA Review: A Heartwarming Blend of Genre and Drama

The films with the most heart and most original ideas almost always come from the super indie sphere. Enter BA, a heartwarming blend of genre and drama written and directed by Benjamin Wong.

Wong’s feature debut stars the empathetic Lawrence Kao (Wu Assassins) as Daniel, a single dad on the brink of homelessness, trying to keep his lovely daughter Collette (Kai Cech, Dear Santa) safe and happy. However, that’s not so easy when your dancing career is derailed by a broken leg and you get evicted, opting to go “car camping.” This is what can happen when your one friend can’t let you stay with them, due to being allergic to your dog.

Weird circumstances and bad decisions aren’t always reflective of reality, but this is why we have stories. The things characters do and choose set them off on a path of discovery and transformation, both good and bad. This is what movies are made from.

Anyway, Daniel takes out a wooden case from the broken trunk of his car. Inside this case is a chunk of cash and a message: “Until you have paid back eleven times what you have taken, any creature you touch will die. To the world, you will appear as Death.”

We don’t know how or why the case came to be in Daniel’s trunk, but that’s not the point. The point is the almost-Faustian deal on the table, reflective of the kinds of heavy sacrifices that the poor in the United States seeming have to face more often than not these days. Do I pay my rent or buy my extremely expensive medicine? I need both to live, but can barely afford one.

Without any other choices, Daniel takes the deal in order to keep himself and Collette off the streets. The first to go is their dog, Charlie, a mistake but proof that Death is now conducting business through Daniel. We get to see Daniel’s Death face in reflections, and from the POV of others. Determined not to freak out Collette, Daniel wraps himself up Invisible Man style. He gets them an apartment and seemingly homeschools Collette, but I’m not sure how this is possible when he only communicates through notes, voice messages, and speaking through walls. So, it’s not long until Child Protective Services shows up, and the agent is entirely too nice, but the tone of BA is forgiving and family friendly for the most part.

As Death’s agent, Daniel receives tokens for every soul that passes. He must give these tokens to the Token Man (Brian Thompson), who acts as a kind of mentor. Daniel must also help these souls pass through really cool-looking portals. Sometimes we see a lost soul who has refused to pass to the other side and wanders in anguish. All in all, there’s some rad world building in this film, which is a feat for big budgets, but even more impressive on small ones.

I won’t spoil the rest of the journey, but it’s worth going on. There’s more conflict, some tragic events, and a bittersweet ending. BA has a big heart and some impressive practical and digital effects. Genre fans of John Carpenter’s The Thing --- specifically Drew Struzan’s incredible poster --- may recognize a familiar element when Death takes off the crystallized mask to render souls.

BA also looks like a million bucks: the gorgeous cinematography by Ming Ju Hue (Quest for Craft) offers a saturated palette in primarily blue-green and orange hues, shot with anamorphic lenses.

Supporting actors Michael Paul Chan, Brian Thompson, and Shelli Boone are all cast well and do a great job in their roles. Interested in checking out BA? It’s out now, distributed by Ethos Releasing and available to rent at all the usual streamers, such as Apple TV. Visit their official site for more information.