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Mongolian Ping Pong
"When I was in China on
the All-American Ping Pong team, I just loved playing
ping-pong with my Flexolite ping pong paddle." -
Forrest Gump
Greetings from a
table tennis player,
I hope this message finds you
reflecting upon something that makes you happy.
I, myself, am contemplating a
ping pong ball.
As bouncy things go, the tiny,
almost weightless, hollow, white sphere used in table tennis
has all the ferocity of an Easter egg.
However, in the charming movie “Mongolian
Ping Pong,” a
table tennis
ball is a thing of might and beauty. As a mysterious
found object in the
Gobi desert,
the ball possesses considerable magic.
A youngster named Bilike has
never seen a ping pong ball before. (Reminiscent of the coke
bottle in "The Gods Must Be Crazy".) Bilike and his family
live without electricity and running water in a solitary tent
home among the vast steppe grasslands. 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 two
friends. The mystery of the small
white ball
floating in the creek leads to questions about the world
around them.
When young Bilike finds the
ordinary ping pong ball, he and his friends take to flights of
imaginative whimsy and embark on a journey to find the source
of the mysterious unknown object. Bilike's old grandmother
says the ball is a glowing pearl sent by the gods, but the
boys are skeptical. Since none of their other family members
are able to offer any more insight, the three boys trek to the
faraway monastery to consult the wise lamas. But even the
grasslands' most knowledgeable inhabitants are stumped. When a
television show finally reveals that the object is the
“national ball of China ,” the determined young scouts set off
to return the ping-pong ball to the Chinese capital, where an
even bigger adventure and more amusing trouble await them.
“Mongolian Ping Pong” may be the
only film that incorporates Tuvan throat singing
in its soundtrack. While exploring
the wilds of Siberia, I once had the opportunity to experience
the wonder of throat singing. The art of Tuvan throat singing
is a style in which two or more pitches sound simultaneously
over a fundamental pitch, producing a mesmerizing and
entrancing sound.
Some may find “Mongolian Ping
Pong” a bit tedious. I found it inspiring as I looked at the
majestic vistas of the Gobi desert and saw value in ordinary
things - ping pong balls included.
I only know two ping pong movies
- "Forrest Gump" and “Mongolian Ping Pong”. I liked both.
With thoughts of the little white
ball,
Bob
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