With wonderfully natural performances by the children, this is a family movie that crosses cultural boundaries in a celebration of the magical possibilities inherent in everyday objects.
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07/20/06
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Mongolian Ping Pong (2006)
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Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:21
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Though the story is quite simple and the pace slow, the movie is a charming one, set against beautiful scenery.
Theatrical Release:Apr 21, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Bilike has never seen a ping-pong ball before. He and his family live without electricity and running water in a solitary tent home among the vast steppe grasslands. Life in the middle of nowhere... [More]
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Reviews for Mongolian Ping Pong
Director Ning Hao snaps a pretty picture, tinged with bittersweet growing pains.
04/19/06
A candid and enviably uncluttered film.
06/23/06
Some judicious pruning could have turned this modestly entertaining, 101-minute film into a considerably better, 80- or 90-minute one.
09/15/06
An extremely beautiful film.
08/06/06
A quarter century after the release of The Gods Must Be Crazy, this charming variation on the theme relies on a similar scenario to examine the lost innocence of another naive primitive.
01/19/07
Mongolian Ping Pong takes you far, far away, and it's a beautiful place to be.
08/05/06
The film's sly charms sneak up on you, if the beautiful and frequently breathtaking vistas of the wind-swept steppes haven't gotten to you first.
04/20/06
...nothing will prepare you for the sheer beauty of this flat, verdant landscape whose horizon seems to stretch out into infinity.
06/03/06
Gorgeous coming of age tale featuring nonprofessional cast of Mongolian nomads.
11/11/06
Although its leisurely pace might be a bit tough going for restless Westerners, Mongolian Ping Pong is the kind of film that should be seen by children, not just adults.
04/21/06
Affecting feature from first-time director is an exercise in restraint.
05/19/06
A sneaky comedy and, to boot, one of the most breathtaking cinematic records of landscape and sky ever filmed.
04/18/06
Top CriticWistful, humorous and majestically pictorial, Mongolian Ping Pong is an off-trail film full of offtbeat delights.
06/29/06
Top CriticA unique, charming coming-of-age film.
07/21/06
The reverential, condescension-free Mongolian Ping Pong cultivates a spellbinding atmosphere of amazement.
04/19/06
Mongolian Ping Pong will likely get only limited art house exposure and this will be a shame.
06/11/06
Less concerned with its plot, which is gossamer-thin and not terribly involving, than with describing the nature of the lives these inhabitants of the remote steppe lead.
08/01/06
Somehow, Hao never breaks the spell of enchantment over the proceedings. He doesn't find the characters quaint or amusing, he finds them real and human and confers the full dignity of existence upon them.
07/20/06
Top CriticLike the best films about children -- and Iranian filmmakers have been particularly good at this -- it puts the camera right among them, and sees the often-confusing world of adults through their eyes.
04/21/06
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