I just want to hear the voice of those people, and what they tought about it over the years.
QUOTE
Long-time pals - loudmouth Peco and dour Smile have come to a crossroads. Smile is the better player, but he consistently loses to Peco out of a misguided sense of friendship. Nice of him, but it's led Peco to believe he's the unbeatable king of the world. When the joyless technician, Dragon, crushes Peco; and China, a Mainland player who couldn't make it in the PRC, mops up the court with Smile, it's time to either put up or shut up. For
Smile it's the putting up that's hard, for Peco it's shutting up that's next to impossible.
The characters are a rogue's gallery torn from the pages of the manga, but none of them are cartoonish. Bowl-haired star, Peco, is played by Japan's hot young thing, Yôsuke Kubozuka. The uni-named Arata plays the Rubik's Cube-twisting, monosyllabic softie, Smile, with his viciously efficient ping pong skills. Hong Kong's Sam Lee, a skater and self-trained actor who's become a badge of authenticity for scores of films since 1997, plays China. He disconnects his normally manic acting style in order to play a remote, self-loathing, self-doubting player who left China thinking he'd become a big fish in a small pond when he reached Japan. Chrome dome, Nakamura Shido, plays the big, bad, Death Star of ping pong, Dragon. A Kabuki star, every one of Shido's movements is beautiful violence.
Smile it's the putting up that's hard, for Peco it's shutting up that's next to impossible.
The characters are a rogue's gallery torn from the pages of the manga, but none of them are cartoonish. Bowl-haired star, Peco, is played by Japan's hot young thing, Yôsuke Kubozuka. The uni-named Arata plays the Rubik's Cube-twisting, monosyllabic softie, Smile, with his viciously efficient ping pong skills. Hong Kong's Sam Lee, a skater and self-trained actor who's become a badge of authenticity for scores of films since 1997, plays China. He disconnects his normally manic acting style in order to play a remote, self-loathing, self-doubting player who left China thinking he'd become a big fish in a small pond when he reached Japan. Chrome dome, Nakamura Shido, plays the big, bad, Death Star of ping pong, Dragon. A Kabuki star, every one of Shido's movements is beautiful violence.
Director: Fumihiko Sori
Cast: Yosuke Kubozuka, ARATA, Sam Lee, Shido Nakamura, Koji Ogura, Naoto Takenaka
Running time: 114 minutes
credits to Hong Kong Cinema review, Subway Cinema review, and J-Fan
