#5. Two films that made their mark on indieland in 08’are Ballast and Frozen River. I didn’t care much for the later, but on the short list of impressive directorial debuts this year, Lance Hammer’s drama reminded me how a narrative and the secrets that it holds can be dispelled like the effects of one of those cough drops. What I enjoyed most about the slow-burning pic is how the past and the future shared some common ground in the progression of the storyline. Kudos go to the believable cast, the choice in location, the hand-held aesthetics and a bleak blue steel coloring.
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