Fresh
This thematic 'lesson' is served up with non-didactic grace complemented by tiny bursts of humour.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Not One Less
In her village, she was the teacher. In the city, she discovered how much she had to learn.
1999 · 1h 46m · G
Drama
Directed by
Zhang Yimou
Overview
Teacher Gao loves the students in his poor village and is devoted to educating them in the hope of their greater futures. When he is called away to tend to his dying mother for a month, the Mayor calls in an inexperienced 13 year-old replacement, Wei Minzhi; much to Teacher Gao's dismay. Teacher Gao cannot stand the thought of losing anymore students: he has already lost twelve to ever-increasing attrition, and he promises Wei an extra 10 yuan if she succeeds in ensuring that upon his return, there will be not one less. Wei's difficult mission to fulfill Teacher Gao's wish and her own concern for the welfare of the children begins.
Director and cast
- Zhang Yimou Director
- Wei Minzhi as Wei Minzhi
- Zhang Huike as Zhang Huike
- Tian Zhenda as Village Chief
- Gao Enman as Teacher Gao
- Sun Zhimei as Sun Zhimei
- Feng Yuying as TV Receptionist
- Li Fanfan as TV Host
- Zhang Yichang as Mr Zhang, instructor
- Zhanqing Xu as Brick factory owner
- Liu Hanzhi as Zhang Huike's mother
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
95%
Tomatometer
Fresh
For Chinese viewers, this film will play as a human drama. For Western viewers, there's almost equal interest at the edges of the screen, in the background, in the locations and incidental details that show daily life in today's China.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh
With Not One Less, Zhang Yimou has fashioned what feels like an uncannily accurate portrait of a culture where Communist ideology has vanished like a brief dream, as traditional community values clash with the burgeoning cult of money.
Leslie Camhi, Village Voice
Fresh
Despite its deliberate austerity, Not One Less is extraordinarily rich.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
Fresh
The Chinese director Zhang Yimou has a rare gift for dramatizing highly theatrical stories in highly naturalistic settings.
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture
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