‘Ballast’ is a low-key film, but its observations are powerful

Three people spaced around a badly furnished living room, each silently dipping into spaghetti that probably came out of a can.

When wordless stray moments hit you like a ton of bricks, then a movie is doing its job. This impromptu dinner in “Ballast” is just one of dozens of sad little portraits, each a piece of a larger story that remains modest in size.

This low-budget film, shot in the Mississippi Delta country and developed with a cast of nonactors, sneaks up on the viewer. At first it appears to be a naturalistic slice of life, but eventually you realize there’s something like poetry in its repeated images and low-key events.

It begins with trouble: the death of a drug addict, whose brother Lawrence (Micheal J. Smith Jr.) promptly tries to kill himself. We never know why Lawrence reacts this way, any more than we find out what motivates his other actions. But his big bulk holds a lot of sadness, and some kindness, too.

The dead man also left behind an adolescent son, James (Jim Myron Ross) who is now mixed up in drugs. James’ mother Marlee (Tarra Riggs, who doesn’t hit a false note) is entitled to the dead man’s house, according to a hand-scrawled suicide note; because this house sits next to Lawrence’s home, there will be friction.

Friction, but nothing like conventional drama. It’s a while before “Ballast” arranges itself into even the minimal plot I’ve described here.

Instead, we get into the film through observation, as first-time director Lance Hammer follows these characters through the flat bayou country and the tired, blank look of houses and convenience stores spread out along rural routes that appear to be forgotten by time and community.

None of the three principals comes off as heroic; they’ve all got their problems, which they don’t always handle well. And there will be no neat resolution at the end, although there will be stabs in the right direction.

The ground-zero atmosphere of “Ballast” gives the lie to Southern fiction such as “Shotgun Stories,” which played last year. The voters at the Sundance Film Festival agreed, giving it awards for directing and cinematography — richly deserved notice for a challenging but rewarding picture.