|
BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
|
 Posted - 01/04/2013 : 22:19:46
|
Hugh Hartford's doco covering the world table tennis championships in Mongolia reveals more about the tenacity of the human spirit than the game itself.
He concentrates on the over-80s category, and - in a year when cinema has re-discovered stories for adults, even elderly adults - here's an uplifting true-life tale that relies not on sex or violence or crime.
In the face of some degree of sentiment, Hartford's film avoids the mush and slush as he cuts between family/private shots of the competitors and the match itself.
The latter in its Mongolian context reminds us how fanatical a nation can be about this sport - which is niche in the west. Champs are recognized in the street and asked for autographs.
And there are some remarkable champs indeed. Australian Dorothy deLow, for example, competes aged 100. The 85-year-old American transplant from Vienna is a relative youngster. Turns out in addition to a mean return she once worked in the French Resistance. And Terry, struggling against what he calls his "prostrate cancer" and having been given a week to live, overcomes the odds to win gold in the men's over-80s doubles.
I've never been a sports fan, but then again, this ain't exactly a sports film. Matchpoint to Hartford!
|
|
Ping Pong
