Ping Pong may be an unlikely subject for a feature film, but this madcap Japanese outing proves to be much more than just a load of old balls. Based on a popular Japanese Manga comic, it's the story of two table tennis players: cocksure Peco (Yôsuke Kubozuka), and his retiring mate "Smile" (Arata) as they prepare for a major high school tournament. Unloading an inventive arsenal of surreal camera tricks and overblown characters, Ping Pong more than lives up to its zappy title.
Described by some critics as The Matrix of ping pong, this little film comes with a great weight of expectation behind it. For the most part, it doesn't disappoint, delivering some off-the-wall thrills as Peco and Smile play in competition against their adversaries: tetchy China (Sam Lee), who didn't make his homeland's national team so has come to Japan to start over; Demon (Akira Nishihara), a slaphead with black-rimmed specs and a big mouth; and the fearsome Dragon (Shido Nakamura), the martial arts ninja of the ping pong world.
"ZANY FLIGHTS OF FANTASY"
"No other sport demands the reaction time of ping pong," yells the boys' demented coach as he whips them into shape. It's something that director Fumihiko Sori has obviously taken to heart since he uses an array of technical tricks to capture the energy and the agony of the game. Slow-mos follow the tiny plastic ball as it backspins across the table, while speeded-up sequences show the players hurtling through the air. Part The Matrix, part The Karate Kid, and completely ping pong bonkers, it's full of zany flights of fantasy.
Still, with its none-too-subtle message about gamesmanship, it's never as much fun as it could have been (check out Battlefield Baseball for a really extreme Asian sports movie). But for what it's worth, it's undoubtedly the best ping pong movie ever made!
In Japanese with English subtitles.
Ping Pong is released in UK cinemas on Friday 30th July 2004.
Ping Pong (2004)
