Marty Supreme

Marty Mauser is the best table tennis player in the world - at least he is firmly convinced of it himself. However, anyone expecting Marty Supreme to be a classic sports biography in the style of great success stories is miles off the mark. Instead of sober training montages and heroic victory speeches, what unfolds here is a garishly staged, wonderfully over-the-top character study about megalomania, ambition and hubris.

We accompany the tirelessly eager Marty on his turbulent journey to the World Table Tennis Championships in Japan. With exuberant charisma, shameless opportunism and a healthy dose of self-absorption, he maneuvers his way through the highs and lows of his mission. Not only does he exploit every opportunity that presents itself, but also the people close to him - friends, supporters and companions become pawns in his personal endgame. Where Marty solves one problem, two new ones arise at the same moment. No sooner does he seem to have escaped one catastrophe than he stumbles into the next - and these are as absurd as they are spectacularly staged. The film throws a cascade of crazy incidents at its protagonist, keeping the pace high and leaving hardly any room to breathe.

Marty Supreme is therefore less a sports drama than a fast-paced adventure that effortlessly oscillates between comedy, satire and emotional character portrait. The masterfully chaotic production reflects Marty's inner turmoil - his unshakeable belief in his own fame is in constant conflict with reality, which keeps tripping him up... and almost ironically in view of Timothée Chalamet's controversial Oscar advertising campaign.