'Mongolian Ping Pong' is an enjoyable film which tells the story of a young boy called Bilike, who finds a ping-pong ball in the river near his house. He lives on the Mongolian steppe, fairly secluded from industrial society, and his family and friends all have their own amusing opinions of what the ping-pong ball is or is used for.
As other viewers have mentioned, the film feels a lot like "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (and I would draw comparisons to the darker Icelandic film, "Noi the Albino") and contains the trademark flourishes of these documentary-ish steppe films. This means there are tons of drawn-out shots of the landscape, lots of time where nothing is happening or nothing is being said, and a lot of time traveling from location to location. This is interesting here because the elapsed time and expansive terrain lend the events of the story more gravity. Some of the drawn-out scenes are slightly monotonous, but without this lengthy pacing the same events would not be very significant.
Still, the characters and interactions prove to be endearing and this is one of the better "steppe films" I've seen (a haha, I've only seen three or so!). The themes involve the contrast of a nomadic life against a modern industrial one, materialism in the steppes, and the significance of family and hard work. There are some beautiful shots of the plains, mountains and deserts of Mongolia and we are treated to some charming segments with various locals. It is generally what some would call a "heart-warming family film" though the subtitles and slow pace would probably alienate most children.
As other viewers have mentioned, the film feels a lot like "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (and I would draw comparisons to the darker Icelandic film, "Noi the Albino") and contains the trademark flourishes of these documentary-ish steppe films. This means there are tons of drawn-out shots of the landscape, lots of time where nothing is happening or nothing is being said, and a lot of time traveling from location to location. This is interesting here because the elapsed time and expansive terrain lend the events of the story more gravity. Some of the drawn-out scenes are slightly monotonous, but without this lengthy pacing the same events would not be very significant.
Still, the characters and interactions prove to be endearing and this is one of the better "steppe films" I've seen (a haha, I've only seen three or so!). The themes involve the contrast of a nomadic life against a modern industrial one, materialism in the steppes, and the significance of family and hard work. There are some beautiful shots of the plains, mountains and deserts of Mongolia and we are treated to some charming segments with various locals. It is generally what some would call a "heart-warming family film" though the subtitles and slow pace would probably alienate most children.