Not One Less / 一个都不能少

[gougou]

After little sleep in the last few days, I was looking for light fare and decided to watch this Zhang Yimou movie tonight. Having heard the plot (a young teacher at a rural primary school goes to the city to find a boy that has gone missing) I was expecting a sappy story full extolling the virtues of communism.

Well, turns out nobody tells you that the motivation for her going to the city is that she'll only be paid her 50 kuai if all of her students are still there by the time the teacher she is substituting for comes back. The whole movie is full of people that act only for their own benefit, full of conflicting interests and lack of compassion. I came to realize that this is the one thing I really dislike about living in China, and had 90 minutes of film imprint that even deeper. While that would be worthwhile commentary to modern society, it is not fully developed (and actually negated in the last two minutes of the film, when Zhang Yimou (or maybe SARFT?) decided to turn it around into a sappy story extolling the virtues of communism).

While I was quite disappointed by the story, I did like the actors - or non-actors, actually. The credits list each actor's regular profession, which in most cases is equivalent to the role played in the movie. Despite of that (or maybe because of that), the cast plays very credibly. Just seeing the little girl sitting in the front row of the classroom makes me want to pack my bags and go teaching in the countryside...

All in all, not a must-see, I think. But if you're interested in getting some glimpse into live in the Chinese countryside, this is not too bad a choice.

[trevelyan]

I don't much like Zhang Yimou, but liked this film. I don't think it's fair to read the teacher's interest in the child who went missing as simple economic self-interest. She certainly wasn't crying on television for the lack of 50 RMB.

[wushijiao]

I think it's a good movie, if a bit simple.

Also, not being able to attend school because of poverty was a huge political issue that got fairly little attention (current laws should have changed that in theory).

[gougou]

She certainly wasn't crying on television for the lack of 50 RMB.

Yes, but did you find that believable? I think she went from an argumentative, uncaring child to an idealistic, caring teacher without the slightest transition in between.

I am sure that such a transition is possible (and a movie about how going to the countryside makes you a better person certainly would go down well with authorities), but I didn't see any sign of it in this movie. In this respect, I liked 盲山 much more (athough that movie does not qualify as light fare).

[trevelyan]

Yes, but did you find that believable? I think she went from an argumentative, uncaring child to an idealistic, caring teacher without the slightest transition in between.

Actually I did! I thought her concern for the kid made sense -- she came to care about him on a personal level in part because they had a complicated relationship (growing out of his love for teasing her) that wasn't just a simple student-teacher relationship. She was as exploited as he was and their situations were equally hopeless, so I thought their relationship was believeable on that level as well.

Maybe one of the reasons I liked it was that I think Zhang Yimou is best when he is producing agitprop, and worst when he is trying to produce serious drama. The Road Home is unapologetic political nostalgia, but it's a good film that manages not to suck, despite hitting every cliche in the script.

[gougou]

The Road Home is unapologetic political nostalgia, but it's a good film that manages not to suck

Yeah, I also liked that one, and Happy Times even more. But I can't connect much to Not One Less. It seemed to me like somebody in the production crew realized that they were close to reaching the 90 minute mark and needed a happy ending quickly. Until 10 minutes before the end, Wei Laoshi seems a spoilt, quarrelsome brat, before suddenly TV comes and saves the day and makes her a kind person that gives inspired lessons to her students. I mean, I'm all for happy endings in an all-out feel-good movie like The Road Home, but in a movie that starts out apparently aiming for realism, this is a bit too much of a happy ending for my taste.

[tooironic]

I actually really adore this film. I dont know why but theres something about it that just struck with me. The naturalistic style of it and the raw cinematography.. I just loved it.