The Bottom Line
The good-natured doc emphasizes the inspirational value of senior-citizen athletes.Opens
Tuesday, May 28 (Docurama)Directors-Producers-Directors of photography
Hugh Hartford, Anson HartfordGeriatric table-tennis stars compete in a China-hosted world championship.
Though you'd never know from its opaquely generic title, Hugh and Anson Hartford's Ping Pong
is less about the rec-room pastime than about a half-dozen or so aging
players who've made it their turf. Observing fierce competitiveness at
an age when most people have put such passions aside, the doc is sure to
be called inspirational; even if it doesn't quite reach that level, its
characters are amiable oldsters whose dexterity is impressive even for
viewers reluctant to call this plastic-ball game a sport.
Building to a tourney in China whose two thousand-plus entrants come
from 51 countries, the Hartfords introduce us to players -- most in
their 80s or 90s; one hitting the century mark -- who hail from Germany,
Australia, the U.S. and elsewhere. Only a couple are unusually
colorful: Les D'Arcy, a 90-year-old bodybuilder who
looks better shirtless than most 30-something cinephiles, enjoys
speaking in literary quotations; Lisa Modlich, who
claims to have flirted for the French Resistance, has won so many medals
she throws away the ribbons and keeps stacks of medallions on her
trophy shelves.
The Hartfords, thankfully, avoid many opportunities for sentimentality here. But in a few choice moments they use the players' histories with ping pong as windows into broader truths about aging. German Inge Hermann recalls that when her husband of 40 years died, "suddenly food didn't taste good anymore... so I stopped eating." She didn't pick up the paddle until 1997, as a kind of physical therapy after a stroke.
More interested in these stories than in competition, the film spends a half hour introducing characters before it follows them to China. Once there, it offers just enough action footage to sate fans of the game and to demonstrate to outsiders the demands it puts on an aging body: Here, the need to move quickly from one corner of the table to another highlights the small things that turn into serious challenges as joints stiffen and muscle deteriorates.
After chronicling the inevitable disappointments and occasional drama of the China tournament, the Hartfords offer a coda whose surprise bits of news feel more like an equal-opportunity balm than a genuine revelation. Few will complain, though, about the chance to see men and women we've rooted for get another chance at the gold.
Production Company: Banyak Films
Directors-Producers-Directors of photography: Hugh Hartford, Anson Hartford
Executive producers: Maxyne Franklin, Beadie Finzi
Music: Orlando Roberton
Editor: John Mister
No rating, 76 minutes
our editor recommends
The Hartfords, thankfully, avoid many opportunities for sentimentality here. But in a few choice moments they use the players' histories with ping pong as windows into broader truths about aging. German Inge Hermann recalls that when her husband of 40 years died, "suddenly food didn't taste good anymore... so I stopped eating." She didn't pick up the paddle until 1997, as a kind of physical therapy after a stroke.
More interested in these stories than in competition, the film spends a half hour introducing characters before it follows them to China. Once there, it offers just enough action footage to sate fans of the game and to demonstrate to outsiders the demands it puts on an aging body: Here, the need to move quickly from one corner of the table to another highlights the small things that turn into serious challenges as joints stiffen and muscle deteriorates.
After chronicling the inevitable disappointments and occasional drama of the China tournament, the Hartfords offer a coda whose surprise bits of news feel more like an equal-opportunity balm than a genuine revelation. Few will complain, though, about the chance to see men and women we've rooted for get another chance at the gold.
Production Company: Banyak Films
Directors-Producers-Directors of photography: Hugh Hartford, Anson Hartford
Executive producers: Maxyne Franklin, Beadie Finzi
Music: Orlando Roberton
Editor: John Mister
No rating, 76 minutes
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