PING PONG
A film review by Jeff Meyer
Copyright 1987 Jeff Meyer
Seen at the Seattle Film Festival: PING PONG (Great Britain, 1986) Director: Po Chih Leong Screenwriter: Jerry Liu Cast: Lucy Sheen, David Yip, Robert Lee, Lam Fund, Victor Kan
I'll be darned.... Another 'A' film, to take its place alongside AMAZING GRACE AND CHUCK, MY LIFE AS A DOG, and WEAPONS OF THE SPIRIT. The name of this film is PING PONG, and it tells the story of Sam Wong, an elderly Chinese patriarch living in England who dies and leaves an explicit and aggravating will behind him. Called in to supervise the carrying out of the will is Elaine Choi (Lucy Sheen), a young law clerk who is Chinese only by her birth--she possesses little of the customs or culture of her native land, and is forced to come face to face with much of these customs (and the way they clash with modern English life) through her efforts to have the will executed. The story is told with a good eye for the humor of many of the situations she finds herself in (as well as the clashes in cultures), as Elaine tries to bring the threads of the deposition of Sam's wishes together. Blocking her are Sam's two sons, one ostracized by his choice of an Anglo wife, the other because of his renouncement of Chinese customs (he is a blatant Oxford man, and he runs an Italian restaurant). Also, Sam's wife, who wishes one son to take over Sam's restaurant, and another to accompany Sam's body back to China. Also, a daughter by an earlier marriage wants to receive more than what she was given in the terms of the will, and her husband, who deals in illegal gambling, wants to use the restaurant to further his games. And finally, a hilariously out-of-touch old friend of Sam's, who thinks the authorities have been trying to extradite him for the last thirty years, despite his citizenship. Elaine must try to get both the signatures, and the agreement, of all these parties.
Along with the humor of the film, several other elements compete for attention: a strain of suspense, in relation to the gambling husband, and a large portion of mysticism, which appears in the oddest places, especially around a Chinese TV series about a Woman Warrior, and the farm that the old friend of Sam's has inherited. Finally, there is the mystery of who Sam Wong was phoning before his death--his body is found in a phone booth behind his restaurant. However, the clues in this mystery are not hidden documents or bloodstains; they are touches of Chinese mysticism which lie just below the surface of the world Elaine finds herself in, and she cannot begin to solve the mystery until she begins to acknowledge the existence of this Chinese magic.
Several plot threads seem disparate during the course of the film; it is impressive how they are fused and molded into the delightful conclusion of this film. The cinematography and editing of this film are wonderful; I wouldn't have expected it in a film of this type--I think that much of the Chinese mysticism would never come off it without the wonderful shots inside the church, and the concluding scenes on the farm. The acting ranges from good to suburb, the latter in the actor who plays the elderly, slightly out-of-touch friend of Sam's who thinks all Anglos are after him to deport him. Lucy Sheen is not outstanding, but her air of level-headedness and slow delight in the people she must deal with are perfect for a character who is the central thread to this story. It is an essential part, and she carries it out well capably.
But finally, the director Po Chih Leong must be given the greatest amount of credit, for making the conclusion of this film so emotionally satisfying-- the past and the present cultures are resolved in both the characters and the mystery of Sam Wong's passing. One of the best endings I can remember in months--clever and tremendously satisfying.
An 'A' film--of any of the films at the festival, this is the one I would like to see again soonest (like RIGHT NOW). I suspect that it may be better the second time around, that there was enough cleverly-hidden symbolism that I missed it the first time. Perhaps not as emotionally satisfying as AMAZING GRACE AND CHUCK or MY LIFE AS A DOG, but close, and even more intellectually satisfying.
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
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