The debut feature film from Sori is a tale of adolescent angst and stylish table tennis sequences. Ping Pong's main character, Tsukimoto (Arata), is an overly sensitive young man who refuses to actually defeat his opponents at the game table because he does not want them to feel bad. His buddy Peco (Yosuke Kubozuka) is a brashly confident and flamboyant player, who meets his match in Kong (Sam Lee). After suffering injuries and temptations, both enter the same major tournament only to realize
that they may end up facing off against each other in the finals. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
The movie has some of the feel of a good graphic novel and offers a lot of Japanese pop pleasures as well. The images are eye-catching and highly colorful, the pacing is fast, and the story and the characters are simple, grabby and archetypal.
Braced by spiky humor but tempered by sentimentality, Ping Pong might have been a disposable teen comedy if not for the Japanese film's unexpectedly thrilling action sequences and subtly profound observations about competition and the human spirit.
There are no surprises in this match, but director Fumihiko Sori makes the games visually thrilling and communicates the athletic nirvana of high-level competition...
Kudo neatly codes allusions to yin-yangs into his frames, stressing time and again that the game of ping pong is not about winning so much as it is a matter of social. camaraderie and blissful self-reflection.
Previsível como a maior parte dos filmes de esporte, mas acaba conquistando por desenvolver muito bem seus personagens, levando o espectador a se importar com todos eles.
This film is so endearing and entertaining that it's hard to understand why it hasn't gone on to take the world by storm ... igniting a ping pong craze in the process!
Surprisingly wonderful. Ultimately transcends the ka-plink ka-plink ka-plink of little plastic balls on wooden tables - it becomes an elegant tango of the mind and soul.
Ostensibly a sports film, but it isn't really. Based on the manga series of the same name, it's about high school championship ping pong, but instead of the classic underdog beats the world plot, we have a quiet boy with talent but no motivation for winning and his arrogant friend who he lets beat him. So our
introverted hero finds his strength (cue Rocky soundtrack) and after many trials and tribulations, finishes with a head-to-head match and wins the championship and a standing ovation, hooray? Nope, nothiing like that. Guess you might have to see it.
June 3, 2010
Lesley N
Super Reviewer
This movie was very original! I loved its unique depiction of friendship between two different dudes. Peco was HILARIOUS. Smile was awesome. Panda? HAHA!!! nice nickname! really nice really nice ^.^
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