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Director(s): Jens Jonsson Screenwriter(s): Jens Jonsson, Hans Gunnarson Producer: Jan Blomgren Cinematographer: Askild Vik Edvardsen Editor: Kristofer Nordin Production Designer: Josefin Ĺsberg Original Music: Martin Willert |
King of Ping Pong
World Dramatic
Sweden, 2007, 107 mins, color
In icy Sweden, 16-year-old Rille faces a daily grind, trying to get through life’s hassles with grace. Plump and moody, he’s the butt of many a school joke and only an onlooker where girls are concerned. Home life presents its own challenges: his single mom is dating a nerdy older man, his absent father (a professional underwater diver) is charismatic but undependable and usually drunk, and Rille and his younger brother, Erik, struggle to feel grounded in the domestic game of musical chairs.
Rille’s one refuge is ping pong. He’s an accomplished player and supervises a community ping-pong program for kids, acting as mentor and, okay, a sort of self-appointed king over his younger subjects. The entire formula of Rille’s life makes for a tenuous equilibrium, and this is threatened when family secrets are accidentally disclosed, setting Rille and Erik on an emotional collision course. But in his pained progress toward the chaotic adult world, Rille occasionally catches a glimpse of the possibility of surviving and thriving.
Director Jens Jonsson renders this delicate story with finesse and a quiet humor that infuses everyday drama, and even a few shocking moments of near calamity, with lightness and warmth. Outwardly quiet, but abuzz with emotional interest, King of Ping Pong is a lovingly etched portrait of the awkward years, certain to be familiar to many filmgoers.
Rille’s one refuge is ping pong. He’s an accomplished player and supervises a community ping-pong program for kids, acting as mentor and, okay, a sort of self-appointed king over his younger subjects. The entire formula of Rille’s life makes for a tenuous equilibrium, and this is threatened when family secrets are accidentally disclosed, setting Rille and Erik on an emotional collision course. But in his pained progress toward the chaotic adult world, Rille occasionally catches a glimpse of the possibility of surviving and thriving.
Director Jens Jonsson renders this delicate story with finesse and a quiet humor that infuses everyday drama, and even a few shocking moments of near calamity, with lightness and warmth. Outwardly quiet, but abuzz with emotional interest, King of Ping Pong is a lovingly etched portrait of the awkward years, certain to be familiar to many filmgoers.
Jens Jonsson - Jens Jonsson studied film directing at the University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre in Stockholm (1998–2002), during which time he made Reparation (2001) and K-G for Better or for Worse (2002), among other films. Both won the second place Cinefondation Award at the Cannes International Film Festival. This led to him receiving the prestigious French grant La Résidence du Festival de Cannes the following year. Jonsson was honored with a retrospective of his films at the Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival in 2006.
Screenings:
Fri. January 18, 9:00pm, Egyptian Theatre, Park City
Sat. January 19, 9:15am, Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
Sun. January 20, 3:15pm, Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
Tue. January 22, 6:30pm, Peery's Egyptian Theater, Ogden
Fri. January 25, 7:30pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas VI, SLC
Fri. January 18, 9:00pm, Egyptian Theatre, Park City
Sat. January 19, 9:15am, Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
Sun. January 20, 3:15pm, Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
Tue. January 22, 6:30pm, Peery's Egyptian Theater, Ogden
Fri. January 25, 7:30pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas VI, SLC
Anette Brantin
Bob Film Sweden
Hökens gata 10
Stockholm 11646
Sweden
+46 8 5569 3090
anette.brantin@bobfilm.se
Bob Film Sweden
Hökens gata 10
Stockholm 11646
Sweden
+46 8 5569 3090
anette.brantin@bobfilm.se
