Ping Pong Review: A Strange, Charming Doc About Old Age
Ping Pong makes a firm case that a strong spirit will aid your longevity. It is a documentary both irreverently funny and deeply affecting.
by Shaun Munro

rating: 4
You might think that octogenarians playing ping pong sounds like a strange subject for a documentary, and youd be right. Director Hugh Hartford manages to, over a brief 76-minute runtime, wring laughs, thrills and a strong sense of humanity out of his wily subjects, while tapping into that universal fact binding the human race together that one day, we all will die. Ping Pong follows 9 elderly folk from around the world as they travel to Inner Mongolia to compete in the over-80s World Table Tennis Championships. The first face we meet is Les DArcy, an 89-year-old British man who, perhaps owing to his active lifestyle, seems anything but that age. Contrasting him is good friend Terry Donlon, who we first see in hospital facing a grim cancer prognosis, with the illness affecting his bones and inhibiting his play. Others have their own afflictions, but one thing is consistent throughout to live without table tennis would, in fact, be death to them. For those subjects not lucky enough to be blessed with ox-like health in their twilight years, ping pong appears to possess curative qualities, keeping them going when death faces both themselves and their loved ones. Take 89-year-old German player Inge Hermann, who not only endured the death of her husband, but suffered a brain illness, a stroke, and was then confined to a nursing home. However, it is in the home that her aptitude for ping pong was nurtured, and alongside it, her health began to improve.


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Contributor
Shaun Munro
Contributor
Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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