Mongolian Ping Pong

Name: Mongolian Ping Pong
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: 2005-06-11
Rating: 6.4

DramaComedy1h 42m

🍅83%

🍅

83%

Tomatometer

🍿

71%

Popcornmeter

6.4

TMDB

Storyline

Bilike has never seen a ping-pong ball before. He and his family live without electricity and running water in a solitary tent home among the vast steppe grasslands. The magnificent landscape here has changed little since the days of Genghis Kahn. But life in the middle of nowhere can be exciting for a young boy. The smallest of details become big events for curious Bilike and his best friends Erguotou and Dawa. The mystery of the small white ball floating in the creek leads to questions about the world around them, as well as innocent mischief.

Details

DirectorNing Hao

ReleasedJun 11, 2005

Reviews

8 reviews · 7 critics

6 fresh · 1 rotten

Critics consensus

“Though the story is quite simple and the pace slow, the movie is a charming one, set against beautiful scenery.”

83% TomatometerRotten Tomatoes

Moira MacDonald

RTSeattle TimesJul 21, 2006

A unique, charming coming-of-age film.

Stephen Hunter

RTWashington PostJul 20, 2006

Somehow, Hao never breaks the spell of enchantment over the proceedings. He doesn't find the characters quaint or amusing, he finds them real and human and confers the full dignity of existence upon them.

Michael Wilmington

RTChicago TribuneJun 29, 2006

Wistful, humorous and majestically pictorial, Mongolian Ping Pong is an off-trail film full of offtbeat delights.

Kam Williams

RTUpstage MagazineJan 19, 2007

A quarter century after the release of The Gods Must Be Crazy, this charming variation on the theme relies on a similar scenario to examine the lost innocence of another naive primitive.