Genre: Documentary
Director: James Stern and Adam Del Deo
Starring: Yao Ming
RunTime: 1 hr 28 mins
Released By: Warner Bros
Rating: PG

Release Date: 02 June 2005 (Exclusively at Cathay Orchard Cineleisure)

Synopsis:

The Year of the Yao" follows seven-foot-six-inch Chinese basketball sensation Yao Ming through one of the most exciting rookie debuts in the NBA histroy. Dramatically riveting, emotionally moving, humours and deeply humanitarian, "The Year of the Yao" is about more than sports; its about one young man's pursuit of his dream, and about the power of sport and friendship to bridge international relations and cultural differences.

Movie Review:

Yao Ming, as a basketball player was nowhere as impressive as NBA superstar like Michael Jordan or Shaq and the team that he is playing for have not even proved itself as a worthy championship contender. So when the news of a documentary movie focusing on him came out, it was rather intriguing and amusing for me. After watching this film, I was somewhat converted from a Yao Ming Critic to a Yao Ming supporter. It wasn’t for his basketball skills but for his effort in a strange new culture and the hope he bought forth for aspiring Chinese players.

The year of Yao chronicles the year that Yao Ming left China for his new basketball career in United States of America. The big hooha about him was that he became the first Chinese player to have some serious playtime in the NBA games. Houston Rockets, the team that drafted him into the NBA was and still is hopping that he can help build a strong contender team out of the Rockets. The Chinese fans on the other side were simply elated to see him as a hope of Chinese nationality reaching NBA stardom and inspired to follow his footsteps.

The better moments of this documentary was in the pacing of events that happened in Yao Ming’s first year in NBA. It started of slowly but once the film showcases the highlights of his NBA games, the pace steps up into a quick and frenzy speed that would stimulate the audience to cheer for him.

Another segment of this documentary to watch out for was the appearance of Charles Barley, his criticisms on Yao and the wager he made with his talk show co-host. If it does not cause a chuckle or two, I will gladly take up the forfeit that Charles Barley had taken on.

But still no matter how good the camera tried to capture Yao Ming’s skill through the video editing, it doesn’t hide his awkwardness on and off court or the fact that his slam dunks are nowhere as exciting as those African Americans counterparts. Yao Ming lacks of the charisma or X-factor of the NBA superstars and the only redeeming factor about choosing him to star in a self-documentary (besides the fact he is one of the best China exports for basketball) would be his down to earth attitude.

Plus I am also not sure of the final edit of the film that will be presented to the masses but during the screening I went to, there weren’t any English subtitles in the film. Non-mandarin speaking audience might miss out on some of the scenes where the Chinese dialogue, which was not explained in an English voiceover.

At the end of the show, it wasn’t how many points he scored or how close he bought the Houston Rockets to the championship round but it was facing the challenges of a new culture and the heart of a giant that didn’t back down from the challenges both on court and off court. After watching this documentary, there was this sudden urge to pick up a basketball and look for the nearest court around to play ball. This film was effective in promoting the game of basketball and Yao Ming was truly a good choice as the ambassador for basketball.

Movie Rating: B-

Review by Richard Lim Jr