Mongolian Ping Pong

Hoa Ning's early work. Before he started a string of kooky dark comedies, he directed a film that is little more than a look at Mongolian culture. There's a simple narrative that gets you from start to finish, but it's really just an excuse to take a peep at Mongolian people and how they live/what they do.

A small ping pong ball floats down the river and ends up in the hands of some Mongolian kids. They take the ball with them, unaware of its function. The elders don't really know it either and they claim it to be a gift from the gods. The mystery remains until a TV show reveals the true use of the little ball.

The cinematography is very plain, the setting is pretty uninviting and the premise is too thin to support the runtime. I guess it's a nice film if you're clueless about Mongolian culture and you don't care about the technical/aesthetic aspects of a film, but then there must be documentaries that better fit the purpose. Not good.