Lü cao di (2005)

Director:

Hao Ning

Writer:

Hao Ning (writer)

Release Date:

3 August 2006 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Bilike has never seen a ping-pong ball before. He and his family live without electricity and running...

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Hurichabilike	...	Bilike
Geliban	...	Ergoutan
Badema	...	Bilike's Mother
Yidexinnaribu	...	Bilike's Father
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dawa	...	Dawa

Also Known As:

Mongolian Ping Pong (USA)

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

China

Language:

Mongolian

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Inner Mongolia, China

Company:

Kunlun Brother Film & TV Productions Lts.

Delightful!

This movie is a slice of life taken from the Chinese Mongolian steppes where people today are still following many of the basic patterns of making a living as herdsmen as they did during the time of Ghengis Khan. The tale focuses on a young boy who finds a ping prong ball floating in the river and doesn't know what to make of it. His grandmother tells him it's a pearl from the river spirits and he tries to get it to glow. After a lack of success in getting the spirits dwelling within this mysterious pearl and after trying to get the pearl to glow, he learns that it is a ping prong ball. From a hazy TV broadcast, he learns ping prong is the National Sport, so the little plastic ball must be repatriated to Beijing. His attempt, however, creates more problems than it solves and his precious ball winds up being destroyed. The final awakening is delightful and unexpected.

All of the comments in the facing review is astoundingly vacuous and completely specious. This film is rich in ethnographic images, wonderful vistas of the vast Mongolian steppes and uncluttered portraits of a people whose inner and outer beauty is simple, honest and breathtaking. I guess the uninformed reviewer was expecting something other than real art.