The two Albanian street performers and close friends, Besi and Rafael, have been traveling through Italy for years with their mime and acrobatics act as Ping and Pong. Sometimes they have trouble with the police, but more often they receive enthusiastic applause from their audience, who are eager to have their picture taken with the two likeable performers.
Debuting director Eneos Carka followed the daily lives of this amiable duo for several years, filming everything from their performances and counting the takings to hanging out the laundry. Thanks to Carka’s unembellished portrait, our empathy grows for these friends on the margins of society, each carrying their own childhood pain. They complement each other like brothers.
But although they swear that nothing will ever come between them, they gradually grow apart, and their friendship cools. Disagreements over money and Rafael’s new studies herald the end of the brotherhood. Their great sadness is palpable in this quiet, observant film, with a keen eye for the subtle dynamics between two artists adrift.
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