Ballad of a Small Player ending explained: Is Dao Ming a ghost?

In Ballad of a Small Player, Colin Farrell stars as Lord Doyle, or rather, Brendan Reilly, a disgraced lawyer turned gambler hiding in Macau after a spectacular fall from grace. Directed by Edward Berger and adapted from Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel, the film is a hypnotic psychological drama where every hand of baccarat mirrors Doyle’s slow descent into guilt and self-destruction. 

When Doyle meets Dao Ming (Fala Chen), a mysterious loan shark who seems to understand his inner torment, their connection sets him on a haunting spiritual journey. The final act, filled with reflections, ghosts, and burning fortunes, leaves audiences wondering: Was Dao Ming ever real, or just a spectral guide pulling Doyle toward redemption?

Dao Ming’s connection to Doyle explained

At first glance, Dao Ming appears to be a typical Macau loan shark, preying on desperate gamblers like Doyle. Yet, their encounters are charged with an unsettling stillness — she seems to know him too well, reading his guilt before he ever confesses it. When she writes a cryptic code on his hand and later vanishes, Doyle finds that the numbers open a hidden stash of money, which he uses to restart his gambling spree. But his luck comes with whispers — the casino’s staff accuse him of playing with “a ghost attached” to him. When Doyle finally learns that Dao Ming drowned during the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts, the story takes on a chilling new dimension.

In an interview with Tudum, director Edward Berger confirmed that, in his view, Dao Ming is indeed a ghost guiding Doyle: 

“I do believe, in our story, she’s a ghost. She’s taking him through his life and guiding him. An act of redemption.” 

Her name, which translates to “guiding light,” reinforces that symbolism. Dao Ming isn’t just another lost soul; she’s Doyle’s mirror. Ming is a haunting embodiment of his own yearning for salvation. By the film’s final moments, Doyle’s act of burning his winnings, the same fortune that once defined him, becomes an offering. In Chinese and Buddhist traditions, burning money is a ritual meant to appease the dead, a form of spiritual restitution. Doyle’s decision isn’t just symbolic; it’s a confession. He finally sheds his greed and honors Dao Ming, giving her the peace that eluded both of them in life.

It’s a quiet, devastating moment, one that turns Ballad of a Small Player into more than a tale about gambling. It becomes a meditation on guilt, mortality, and the heavy price of self-forgiveness.

Recap of Ballad of a Small Player

The movie opens with Lord Doyle deeply in debt, living under a false identity after stealing nearly £1 million from a client back in Britain. Trapped in the chaos of Macau’s gambling dens, Doyle clings to his charm and deceit to survive. When he meets Dao Ming, he believes she’s his last chance at redemption — or luck. During the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts, they share a night together by the sea. The next morning, she’s gone, leaving behind the mysterious code on his hand. Using it, Doyle unlocks her hidden savings, sparking a winning streak that pays off his debts. But when he returns to repay her, he’s told she drowned that very night.

Haunted by her absence and what she represents, Doyle faces his final test. He resists one last bet — the ultimate temptation — and instead burns all his winnings. The flames become his offering to Dao Ming, a symbolic act that bridges the divide between the living and the dead. The credits roll on a surreal dance between Doyle and Cynthia (Tilda Swinton), the investigator who was once chasing him. It’s both cathartic and hopeful — a hint that Doyle, for all his sins, has finally found a sliver of peace.

Ballad of a Small Player closes on ambiguity, but its message is clear enough: redemption doesn’t always come through victory — sometimes, it comes through surrender. Whether Dao Ming was real or an apparition, she represents the guiding light that leads Doyle out of his cycle of greed and guilt. In burning his fortune, he lets go of the illusion of control and embraces what little humanity he has left.

Now streaming on Netflix, Ballad of a Small Player stands as one of Edward Berger’s most introspective works — a story where money, ghosts, and morality blur into one final, haunting wager.