What has two letters, one syllable and is going to rock your world? Ba, the amazing supernatural dramatic feature debut by rising auteur Benjamin Wong. Daniel (Lawrence Kao) is a single dad who is struggling to make ends meet for his young daughter Collette (Kai Cech). He used to be a back up dancer for big pop stars, but now he and his daughter live in their car. One day, he finds an abandoned duffel bag in a parking lot with a box of money in it. In the box is a couple of notes, the first one explaining that once you take the compensation, you will be drafted into an eternal profession.
Desperate, Daniel grabs the bag and heads back to the car where Colette is sleeping. He catches his own reflection in a car window, seeing that his skin is now grey and rotting, with a skull for a head. The second note says he is now a grim reaper, delivering death to whoever he touches with his bare hands. He will appear as a skull creature to everyone and must visit the dying every night to usher them into the afterlife. He can only quit and become mortal again once he has paid back the money he took eleven times over.
“…once you take the compensation, you will be drafted into an eternal profession…”
When Colette gets scared by the sight of him, he quickly covers himself from head to foot with mask, gloves and sun glasses so that they can stay together. Colette hides out in their cheap motel room while her father runs around all night doing something she has no idea about. This arrangement starts attracting the attention of a nice lady (Shelli Boone) from Child Protective Services, the last thing Daniel needs right now…
Ba is the best movie of its kind since Ghost. It is that rare picture that is essentially a fantasy but feels so real in all of its elements. Wong does a masterful job of crafting his afterlife architecture around a living, breathing family drama with resonating real life concerns. His pacing is impeccable, as he builds his reaper world while simultaneously establishing characters and their life challenges.
"…the best movie of its kind since Ghost."
