My Name Is Yu Ming (2003)
"Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom" (original title)

Is there a place in the world for Yu Ming? He's a clerk at a convenience store in China, bored with his life. At a library, he spins a globe and stops it with his finger, which turns out to... See full summary »

Director:

Daniel O'Hara

Writer:

Daniel O'Hara

Stars:

Daniel Wu, Frank Kelly, Paddy C. Courtney

6 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Daniel Wu	...	Yu Ming
Frank Kelly	...	Paddy
Paddy C. Courtney	...	Barman
Richard Morton	...	Lenny
Enke Javkhlan	...	Enke
Ariel Hsiung	...	Customer
William Roche	...	Assistant Barman
Jian Hua Ma	...	Librarian
Howard Pau	...	Shop manager
Jenny O'Hara	...	Extra
Sarah Jane Wai O'Flynn	...	Extra
May Ho	...	Extra
Sarah Shannon	...	Extra
Donnie Gorman	...	Extra

Storyline

Is there a place in the world for Yu Ming? He's a clerk at a convenience store in China, bored with his life. At a library, he spins a globe and stops it with his finger, which turns out to be touching Ireland. He reads about the country and teaches himself Gaelic, flies to Dublin, and finds to his chagrin that no one understands him. He assumes that his Gaelic is at fault, that is, until he walks into a bar looking for work.

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Plot Keywords:

globe | convenience store | library | clerk | bar | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Details

Country:

Ireland

Language:

English Irish Mandarin

Release Date:

23 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Meine Name ist Yu Ming

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

€10,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dough Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

13 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References Taxi Driver (1976)

User Reviews

Cutting Satire

It's a sad fact that in modern Ireland, our own language is a virtual non-entity, kept alive by the government, with it's status as the nation's official language, and in pockets of the west of Ireland. This situation is satirized brilliantly with this film, about a young Chinese boy who, wishing to escape his humdrum life in China, decides to go to Ireland, so studies the Irish language in the mistaken belief that we speak it! When he gets over no-one understands him, thinking he's speaking Chinese. Unfortunately this would be a realistic conclusion. This is certainly a fantastic short & is so simple in it's storytelling that you could be forgiven for not noticing the subplot, that as a nation we must get a little of our culture back before our language dies completely. A must for short film fans.