Mongolian Ping Pong

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.

In the vein of THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY, Chinese director Hao Ning captures a similar theme in MONGOLIAN PING PONG, but instead of a coke bottle this time it's a ping pong ball.

Seven-year-old Bilike lives on the Great Mongolian Steppe in a landscape of vast plains ruled by nomads-of-ol'. He survives with his family and friends in a fairly mundane cycle of life until one day he discovers a strange, white ball floating down a nearby river. He quickly grasps it and sets himself on an adventure. No one has ever seen anything like this ball. His bewitching grandmother tells him it's a good-luck item from the gods. Others think it might be a magical pearl. Bilike and his friends are enchanted and try to figure it out on their own. Traveling to wise monks, policeman, and eventually to Beijing, Bilike eventually finds out the truth about this rather ordinary object as he is forced to grow up.

Although similar in plotting to The Gods Must Be Crazy, Mongolian Ping Pong has better usage of camera, lighting and landscape. The panoramic vistas of the Mongolian Steppe are, without a doubt, absolutely magnificent. The location plays perhaps a more central character than the characters themselves. Which caused a few problems. Hao Ning (director) lets the camera linger on these beautiful shots too often and for too long, making the pacing agonizingly slow (although beautiful, one can only watch so much of this before it gets a bit tiring). Employing no-name actors is fairly common in films such as this, but it's very evident that none of these people (kids and adults alike) have very little if any acting experience, making many character sequences fall flat or wooden.

The initial quality of the filming, too, leant itself to a slightly documentary-style feel, which isn't horrible but something that detracts a little.

But even with these flaws, the story is quaint enough and infused with childlike wonder that most viewers probably won't mind. Be forewarned, though, as mentioned earlier, it is a sloooow film but shot with art-like dedication when looking at it overall.

This is one of the best ever art films from China (which I consider one of the two cinema superpowers of the last two decades together with Iran) and the best film I have seen so far this summer in Washington.

Its story is very sweet and continuously interesting, the characters are very realistic acted convincingly by amateurs (they practically play themselves in a very real way), has very fine humor, has magnificently photographed Mongolian landscapes, and is directed flawlessly. It could also be considered very interesting as a fiction-documentary of the Mongolian country life and culture displayed in detail.

Sets an excellent example of film-making with an honest heart and endless talent. Strongly recommended to all non-Hollywood film-goers.

Charming, subtle, funny, evocative and interesting characters. No Hollywood here, just a simple, but touching, story told through they eyes of a people and a culture that are alien to most of us. No trite sentimentality, nor appeal to national pride, nor play on insecurities of good and evil. The film and the story progress at the right pace for the time and place they are supposed to convey. If Proust appeals to you then this film is worth watching. You don't get the sense that the actors are acting which add an authentic feel to the movie. Nothing is 'enhanced' by sound or music or special effects which perfectly fits the setting. I highly recommend this film.

I've come to believe this movie is actually genius. I have not seen a more effective story that tells of the advancement of "civilizatiion" and what that means to mankind.

it's summed up in the souvenir photo sequence of the two families.

But it's the experience of the boys that brings us to realize how sterile our world has become. Like the negative reviewer in this chain basically states: it's boring cuz nothing blows up.

In our society it has become difficult to appreciate what life can offer--what life in nature, with nature, can offer. Instead, many look to movies to escape 'what is'. This film shows us a 'what is' that transcends escapism because there is a new wonder and mystery around every bend. But not the wonder and mystery of another world: the wonder of this world. And that is how we were meant to live. Instead, the movie holds a mirror up to what has happened. Why should a Steppes father keep fighting for his TV signal? Why does he trade for worthless electronic gizmos?

I found the ending profoundly sad. Sad for the boys, but moreso, sad for us. Us who live in this world of our making and cannot grasp anything beyond the literate.

The negative reviewer stated he/she saw the film with a school. I hope the teachers are able to bring this story to light for our youth. For without the reverence and mystery of everyday life you have nothing left buy the circling attempt to anesthetize your daily existence with alcohol, drugs, violence, or even the companion of escapism: TV.