COLIN FARRELL SHOOTS NEW MOVIE IN MACAU CASINOS

Colin Farrell plunges into an intoxicating fever dream among the high-stakes baccarat tables of Macau casinos with Ballad Of A Small Player, a rare major Western film shot on location in Asia's gambling capital.

- STORY: ANDREW MARSZAL / AFP

The surreal, dark and twisty drama costars Tilda Swinton as an investigator in pursuit of Farrell’s velvet-suited conman and gambling addict.

It was filmed over 33 days in various Macau casinos, including scenes shot on live gaming floors while surrounded by real-life high rollers.

Farrell said he had spent a crazy eight weeks living in hotels “in the middle of the gambling strip...which I can’t imagine I would ever do” otherwise.

“It was all-hands-on-deck. It was a bananas shoot,” he said at the Netflix film's Toronto film festival premiere on Tuesday.

Macau is the world’s top casino hub by gross gaming revenue, roughly four times that of Las Vegas.

The tiny Chinese-controlled territory has a skyline dominated by sprawling, luxurious casinos, many themed with replicas of global landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and canals of Venice.