Ping Pong (2012)

2012

76 mins

Directed by Hugh Hartford
95%
78%
Documentary
Sport

A sports documentary that sets out to prove that age is no limit when it comes to athletic triumph. Follows... More

A sports documentary that sets out to prove that age is no limit when it comes to athletic triumph. Follows eight pensioners from four different continents with a combined age of over 700 years, as they compete in the World Over 80s Table Tennis Championships in Inner Mongolia.

Terry (81) once having been given a week to live, has now set his sights on winning gold. Inge (89) has used table tennis to train her way out of the dementia ward she committed herself to. Australian legend Dorothy deLow is 100, and finds herself a mega celebrity in this rarefied world and Texan Lisa Modlich, a new-comer at 85 years old, is determined to do whatever it takes to win her first gold.

Says Susan Sarandon: "Who could have imagined there were people over 100 years old with more passion and determination than most people 1/5th their age! The film is baffling, inspiring and sweet, and it's wonderful to see how ping-pong has transformed their lives."

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Ping Pong (2012) is available to stream in the United... More Kingdom now on Apple TV Store.

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Ping Pong (2012) | Ratings & Reviews

95_%21 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
78_%270 reviews
Audience score rating

"The jock, the flirt, the fighter, the showpony, the philosopher – the cast of Ping Pong have all the necessary character traits for a riveting ensemble drama. It lacks a villain but when the odometer of life tops 80 years, everyone deserves to be a hero. The determination these seniors show for the sport is profoundly and hilariously inspiring. They are all in it to win – with the exception perhaps of 100-year-old Dorothy DeLow who can barely move and is there to lap up the attention. The Chinese media go mad over her."

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Flicks

"Engaging if unremarkable, Hugh Hartford's polished picture is a crowdpleaser."

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Variety

"An unabashed crowd-pleaser, Hugh Hartford's table-top portrait avoids patronising its aged subjects, bouncing between sweetly satirical and sincerely moving."

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Total Film

"It's breezy fun, touching lightly on illness and worse."

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Time Out

"These dynamic table-tennis stars put the rest of us to shame."

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The Guardian

"The good-natured doc emphasizes the inspirational value of senior-citizen athletes."

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Hollywood Reporter

"The sight of this elderly bunch hobbling around the table may well make you laugh, but the passion with which they play each game as if it might (and probably will) be their last will also make you cry."

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