Not One Less

What good are special effects and action movies if not for their escapist value? But there is much more good to be learned from movies like Zhang Yi-mou's "Not One Less", for what we are watching may be part of everyday reality. In a small school in a remote rural area of China, a thirteen year old girl substitutes for a teacher, who has to visit an ailing parent. This is a job that not too many people want, so a girl not much older than the kids seems to be the only choice. The girl is obviously not cut out to teach 28 kids, whose ages range from kindergarten level to fourth grade. On her first day of teaching, she spends a good part of the day writing the lesson on the board, with the students clueless about what to do. Yet the teacher seems more clueless in what to do next after she is done with her writing. When a dispute breaks out in class, the young teacher has absolutely no idea what her responsibilities are. Yet when events take an interesting turn, she keeps her hopes up and makes the situation into a teachable moment, to the surprise of the village mayor. With steely stubbornness, she heads to the big city to uphold her mission to lose not one less kid from her school not just because she needs the money but also because she has become attached to her students, especially this one. And boy does she get more than she bargained for at the end!There are some very touching moments in this movie, and their effectiveness lies in their sheer simplicity. We get to know what one of the more responsible and sensitive girls in the class feels about the poverty of her school. Her tears were from embarrassment, having revealed to the rest of the school, against her will, her personal feelings. Perhaps she knew there were other possibilities in life, but she felt helpless to attain those possibilities. Another unforgettable scene was the twenty or so kids sharing two cans of Coke, passing it around, with not one kid feeling entitled to more than a single sip. The hunger and desperation that beset both teacher and lost student in the anonymity of the big city. How the TV camera has triggered the teacher's last call for hope. When the boy recognized the teacher on TV and realized that she was specifically looking for him, how could anyone not be touched by his feeling of happiness, relief, and self-pity?It is unfortunate that lack of resources, kids just dropping out of school in order to work, help the family, or move to the city to work, and the limitations in choices when the kids grow up are realities in many impoverished schools, both rural and urban. "Not One Less" is a movie that brings us closer to reality and makes us think about what we can do or contribute to improve other people's lives.

In some ways reminiscent of The Story of Qiu Ju, Not One Less tells the story of a stubborn and naïve person from the country adrift in an urban setting making maddeningly poor choices. Unlike the other movie however, Not One Less is about a thirteen year old makeshift substitute teacher in a rural school who sets off for the city to retrieve a student from her class. Through the course of the movie, her motives change from selfish to selfless and she does a tremendous amount of growing up in the days and weeks the movie takes place within.Played not by actors but by ordinary people and filmed in Yimou's no frills albeit stunningly gorgeous and evocative style, we witness the power of sheer determination and survival instincts bringing together a large community in a powerful display of humanity and compassion.Rant ahead: As a teacher, I have reminded my students many times of their great fortune in being born in America and having free education for all. I've even brought this point forward many times with their parents. Sadly, my words often fall on deaf ears because free public education is viewed like so many other things we've long taken for granted in our country that others throughout the world would practically kill to have. How is it that our country can be so far behind the rest of the world in education even as we provide twelve free years of it to every child? If your answer is to blame unions, bad teachers, and government bureaucracy, you're missing the biggest factor. We reap what we sow and our bountiful nation has produced lazy, spoiled, materialistic, self-absorbed brats, and I'm not just talking about our children. We do lead the world in self-esteem, however, so we are certainly proud of how fat, stupid, and selfish we are. Public education will never change in this country until the overall culture that has made us what we are today makes a dramatic turnaround.

I ordered this DVD due to my interest in China. The plot seemed interesting. Little did I expect it to be such a wonderful movie.It is the story of a young substitute teacher barely older than her students who is asked to fill in for the regular village teacher while he is gone for a month. He tells her that if she has the same number of stndents present when he returns as there are when he is leaving, he will pay her a bonus. She is 13 - little older than her students.The village school is a one room affair. The teachers office doubles as her bedroom. Some of the students sleep at the school so presumeably they live to far to go back and forth each day. Not only is she a teacher, she is also a house mother with 24 hour responsibilities for her students.This is a movie that is simple in it's theme but quite effective in the delivery of the message. It is a part of China that is rarely seen - the deep rural areas with few resources and little money. It is a far cry from Shanghai and Beijing. Yet it brought back memories of my elementary school where we had to copy pages from a book. I never knew why - we just did it. Likewise the students have to copy sentences written on the blackboard. Is it make work? We never know.The determination of the teacher is great. We forget and maybe she does too, about her bonus based on numbers. We become absorbed in her adventures and how her students support her. It is an outstanding movie and while it is a very different subject it should be viewed as a way to learn more about China. I highly recommend this movie to anyone with an interest in China and teaching. The latter could be any school, any place that is starved for funds and us largely invisible beyond the town/city/village limits.

The movie is in all Chinese, so you will need to read the subtitles if you don’t speak that language. It’s a cute show, a little slow at times, but had a couple of very moving scenes. Would definitely watch again. The family was entertained.

It works on a DVD player.

This is another Yimou Zhang winner. The story is timeless and beautiful. In this film, each actor, children and adults, used their real name and profession and provide outstanding performances. The message is one of Hope, Compassion and Commitment.

This is a simple film, the kind the Japanese are so good at. Using mostly local non-actors it charts the journey of a young and inexperienced girl taking a teaching position at a village school. Her motives seem questionable at first, but when one of her students leaves for the city, the trials and tribulations of her pursuit expose another side of her. The footage of her scouring the streets for him appear un-choreographed, showing the city in a realistic, almost documentary style. Her frustration and distress during her search are never overdone, leaving you moved by the honesty of her portrayal.

ATTENTION / SUR LE SITE AMAZON IL EST ANNONCE SOUS TITRES EN FRANCAIS PAR ERREUR / HEUREUSEMENT QUE JE MAITRISE A PEU PRES L' ANGLAIS

Vorab der Film ist jetzt kein reiner Unterhaltungsfilm und somit kein Film für die breite Masse. Zhang Yimou greift hier mehrere Themen an die Probleme in China sind das weit aus offensichtlicher als in Heimweg wo wirklich eine Liebesgeschichte im Vordergrund war. Besonders interessant ist das alle Darsteller Laiendarsteller sind und Dorfbewohner sind und so praktisch jeder seine wirkliche Rolle im Leben spielt.Da durch wirkt der Film so was von überzeugend wie kein anderer Film. (Das der Film hier nur auf Deutsch Untertiteld ist somit ziemlich gut)Die Geschichte, Landschaftsaufnahmen und die grandiose Musik tun Ihr übriges. Der Film ist sehr Gefühlsvoll und einfach nur noch schön.

Tragik der Landbevölkerung und Wille zum Durchhalten meisterhaft verfilmt mit wunderschönen Schauspielern. Humorvolle Szenen. Spannend mit guter Musik autentisch gefilmt.