Year of the Yao, The

Aroview: Thoroughly entertaining documentary about towering Chinese basketballer Yao Ming's (7' 6") rookie season playing for the Houston Rockets in the 2002 NBA championship.

Although featuring plenty of fleet-footed and agile court action, this really centres on Ming's burgeoning and often comedic relationship with his everpresent translator, Colin Pine. Snippets of cross-cultural miscomprehension are also enlivening and sometimes disturbing, but this skims lightly over possible subtexts and slamdunks with Yao's graceful presence and superlative skills.