Ping pongkingen
Der Tischtennis-König
Directed by
2008
The overweight Rille is an outsider who is ostracised by everyone. For his school colleagues, the 16-year-old is a non-entity. Only in the ping pong hall do things change: here Rille rules over the younger players, here he is “the King of Ping Pong”. By contrast, his 13-year-old brother is charming and is respected by everyone. Despite all their differences, the brothers are very fond of each other. After all, they share the same blood – or so they believe. When Rille and Erik learn the truth about their father in their Easter holidays, they become bitter opponents in a dire fight over life and death.
[video:https://youtu.be/aq71tl5weeA]
The first full-length feature film by Swedish director Jens Jonsson (born in 1974) is convincing both in form and content, dealing with the “struggle for survival” of a pubescent outsider who surpasses himself in ping-pong.
The director succeeds in representatively reflecting the psychological conditions of a burdened family by means of camera work, composition and particularly in his use of colours. Rille’s development is striking in its authenticity, all the more so thanks to the characterization of all supporting roles.