Despite being set in the 50s, the film masterfully reflects modern-day anxieties, disconnection and obsession with nostalgia, all while reigniting interest in an unsung sport
F
irst things first: the best picture Oscar should go to Marty Supreme for the incredible job it has done in bringing new eyes to ping pong. A declining sport that has to be propped up by subsidy, this movie has single-handedly kept wiff waff alive even though no one cares about it any more. Kudos.
Next, a confession. I watched this film the day it came out and haven’t seen it since*. That day also happened to be my birthday, a big birthday, and I wasn’t entirely steady when I entered the cinema that evening. I have sketchy recollections of the middle section – the bit between the bath collapsing and the plane to Japan. I also didn’t really like it much; I found it inconsequential and a bit amoral and I instantly resolved to forget the words to 4 Raws Remix (sample lyric: “my life is an opera”) as a result.
I don’t believe my own personal failings should undermine the argument for giving this film the gong it so obviously desires. If we’re talking cinema (not marketing campaigns or merch drops, however captivating), then Josh Safdie has created a movie that has captured something of the world in 2026. Set as it may be in the 1950s, Marty Supreme could only have been made now. If we want to celebrate art that reflects the world we live in, then this is the one.
