Pingpong (2006) is a gripping German drama that explores grief, emotional isolation, and the dangerous dynamics that emerge inside a fractured family. The film follows 16-year-old Paul, who arrives at his estranged relatives’ remote countryside home after his father’s suicide. What begins as a quiet refuge soon transforms into a tense psychological space filled with unspoken desires, pressure, and manipulation.

Anna, Paul’s aunt and a former pianist, is consumed by preparing her son Robert for an important conservatory audition. The household atmosphere is rigid, stressful, and emotionally suffocating, creating the perfect setting for unresolved issues to rise to the surface. Paul, desperate for connection, offers to repair the family’s neglected swimming pool—a symbolic attempt to fix something in a world that feels irreparably broken.

As the days pass, the relationships inside the house grow increasingly strained. Anna’s troubled emotional state leads her to blur boundaries, while Paul misinterprets her growing attention as genuine affection. Their interactions intensify the household’s instability, especially as Robert struggles under enormous pressure and begins to unravel.

The film reaches its emotional peak when Robert refuses to attend his exam and witnesses a disturbing moment that forces the family’s tensions into the open. When Stefan, Paul’s uncle, returns home, Anna immediately distances herself, attempting to restore order at Paul’s expense. Heartbroken and rejected, Paul takes a final, painful action before leaving—a moment that underscores the film’s themes of vulnerability and desperate longing.