Ping Pong

Fumihiko Sori, Japan, 2002, 114 minutes

Do you remember the tingle running down your spine the first time you saw The Matrix? Before the dream was shattered by R & R? Watching Ping Pong, it's like the thrill was never gone.

Ping Pong is an everyday tale of friendship, good guys vs. bad guys, growing up and table tennis. But this is the sport like you've never seen it before.

Two friends, Peco and Smile, both play for their high school team, but couldn't be more different. Peco is the rebellious one, cutting training sessions to hustle at his local ping pong joint. Smile, unlike his name suggests, is shy and retiring and though more talented always holds back when the two play. Like their personalities, their styles of play are completely different: Peco aggressive and rash; Smile defensive and lacking confidence. But their attitudes and abilities are challenged when they compete in the national school championships and face opponents with talents and personalities as great as their own.

Coming from a computer graphics background, first-time director Fumihiko Sori manages to do something quite spectacular: he manages to make table tennis exciting. Subtly using CG effects to enhance key points in matches, he makes a white ball bouncing about into a battle of life and death between two supreme athletes. The tension drips off the film like sweat - this is like martial arts with paddles. And all this is set to a fantastic set of Japanese dance tracks which surely constitute the best soundtrack of the year.

But this is not just Shaolin Soccer Mark II: here the emphasis is equally on character and drama. This is the only place where the film lets itself down slightly - extended sequences of Peco and Smile's childhood bonding can get a bit much. However, the quirky set of supporting characters make this not just a film hinged around a few action sequences but an exploration of what it takes to compete, and what it takes out of you when you do.

Ping Pong is a truly enjoyable thrill ride of a film and I guarantee it is the best film about table tennis you'll ever see!

Review by Neil Chue Hong
Written for EUFS Programme Spring 2004