Ping Pong

2002 "Enter the hero!"
7| 1h54m| en| More Info
Released: 20 July 2002 Released
Producted By: TBS
Country: Japan
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

As children, the introverted Smile was being bullied by a gang of kids until the brash Peco comes by and chases all of them them away. Peco then takes Smile under his wings and teaches him how to play the game of ping pong. From there a life long best friend relationship comes into existence between these two polar opposite kids.

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Reviews

Karry Best movie of this year hands down!
Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.
Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
jim pyke Of course this is just my opinion, and you are free to disagree with it as you please :) The phrase "Hiro kenzan" (ヒーロー 見参) which translates to "enter: the hero" - as in a stage direction in a script - pretty much sums up this movie. This phrase is repeated throughout the film, and becomes a sort of mantra. I'm marking this as containing a spoiler, because some people might rather come to their own understanding of the use of this phrase in the film before reading my explanation of it.What I love so very very much about this film is that it takes something (the game of ping pong) which is to me relatively insignificant (in the same way that many of the things that play an important role in my life would seem insignificant to you who are reading this now), and uses it to create an extended meditation on life choices and their after-effects; relationships of mentoring, friendship, and competition (in the best sense of that perhaps loaded word); and the very idea of what it means to be a hero - both to oneself and to others.There is a hero that dwells in each of us. That hero is released by our taking charge of our own choices and our own lives. That hero is released by being true to ourselves, and when that hero "enters," the lives of others around us cannot help but be deeply touched and improved by such "self actualization." I hope that people who see this movie can come to feel the presence of that hero within themselves (and the others around them) in whatever small or large way.
Albertownsjoo Ping pong truly is one of those rare movies that come along once a decade. I confess i was forced into buying this movie and watching it, ended up watching it over and over again.Once i found out it was based on a separate manga, i immediately gave up on the story, to the contrary, within the limit of the two hours, the movie splendidly and beautifully told all there is to tell, after the two hours, movie viewers will be on equal footing with manga readers. Whereas most will say the story was the strongest part of the movie, don't leave out the humour and the casting.Characters portrayed so well, bittersweet moments did leave me in tears for one or two moments.The only downside would be that if you came to this movie in hopes of a tasteless comical movie with no story you will be disappointed. The morals, philosophies of the movie and its characters leave one thinking. Not many times has a movie left me with so much self-reflection and noggin-scratching. Easy to see where its won Eight Japanese Academy Awards in 2003.
Inakaguy This was one of those movies that I really had to force myself to watch and ended up loving. It's a story more about the nature of friendship than the actual sport of ping pong. As with a lot of Japanese cinema, the movie takes a while to get moving, but don't let this deter you. The special effects are fantastic. Basically, I didn't even know there were special effects until I'd finished watching it. There are a few laugh out loud moments, although some of the humour requires a knowledge of Japan. My favourite moment is the boy who doesn't want to play in the tournament because his opponent is Chinese. While I should have found the ending schmaltzy, I actually found it quite touching. I have no hesitation in recommending this movie to anyone.
ayoayo Wow this movie sucked big time. I heard this movie expresses the meaning of friendship very well. And with all the internet hype on this movie I figured what could go wrong? However the movie was just plain bad. It was boring and the character development was never there. Space Travelers was also a horrible movie, if you didn't like that movie there is no way you will like this.