Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14645 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-09-17
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: Mandarin Chinese
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Not One Less, Zhang Yimou's (Raise the Red Lantern) tale of a plucky adolescent substitute teacher in a rural Chinese village, cast entirely with non-actors and shot on location, is an astute example of censorship politics. Taking on touchy issues with a veneer of can-do spirit and happy-ending fantasy, his film is at once rousing and eye-opening. Wei Minzhi is a stubborn young woman who takes a substitute-teaching job in a tiny provincial town because they can't afford anyone else. When one troublemaking boy heads off to the city to help support his starving family, it's not a sense of responsibility that drives her rescue mission, but money: She won't receive her bonus if any students are missing. Her efforts to raise money for the city trip pulls the class together in a sense of purpose, and even drives the lessons. But when she finally reaches the city she's shocked to discover an urban jungle of lost and runaway kids. Yimou shoots with an easy naturalism that suggests a well-intentioned docudrama in spots, due to narrative contrivances and a few self-conscious performances, but his compromises ultimately make his shocking look at China's rural poverty, adolescent workers, urban juvenile homelessness and woefully under-funded educational system more potent. In the heat of the film's uplifting climax, the once-mischievous boy pulls the film back down to earth with his reflection on his big-city adventure: "I had to beg for food. I'll never forget that." --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 5
Mandarin
Region 2
Dolby Digital Surround Mandarin
Dolby Digital Surround
Isolated Score
Trailer
Arabic\Czech\Danish\Dutch\Finnish\French\German\Greek\Hebrew\Hindi\Hungarian\Icelandic\Italian\Norweigan\Polish\Portuguese\Spanish\Swedish\Turkish

Synopsis
NOT ONE LESS is an original, extremely affecting story of a small Chinese village and the children that inhabit it. When an elementary school teacher leaves her assignment to care for her ill mother, the community leader allows a 13-year-old girl, Wei Minzhi, to take her place. After the class clown is forced to leave the village in order to find work, Wei Minzhi organizes a fundraiser that will give her enough money to track him down and return him to his rightful place in the classroom. Zhang's (RAISE THE RED LANTERN) film proves that determination and will can conquer any odds.

Customer Reviews

Well worth the trouble
It's been criticised in a number of quarters for not positioning itself correctly in terms of the way the issues of poverty and politics are covered, it requires one to read sub-titles and to guess at 101 different cultural facets that one might be missing. All this made me cautious about this film. But in the end, I was, almost embarrassingly, completely won over. I'm not sure that it is correctly placed politically, and even less sure if that really matters. I read the sub-titles avidly and strained to pick up every cultural nuance. Why? In my view, it's more than worth the trouble; its a moving and beautifully crafted film. And if you can remain dry-eyed enough by the end not to shed a tear, then listen to the totally inappropriate American trailer, which should surely make anyone weep!

Keeping them in school
Yimou (Hero, Flying Daggers, Red Lantern) comes at this very differently from his other more famous films, and this is more comparable to The Road Home or other more villagey, serene films like Balzac, Green Papaya, The Way Home etc. It's not superficial; swaying between moving, upsetting, relatively honest and natural.
For the viewer it's interesting to see how other countries/communities operate (technology free environment) and see their social/educational issues within film (although obviously a representation). The sub teacher comes from a neighbouring farming village to a one teacher dilapidated, resource free school with students disappearing as family financial needs dictate and when not removed by the mayor for athletic ability transfer. The existing teacher has been unpaid 6 months, the boy reads a story of being careful with chalk. Discipline is physical, the teachers have parental and community respect & power. We see Wei's motives and practical solutions develop alongside the mathematical ability and interest of her mixed age, only slightly younger classmates. We see child workers in the city and Wei's relentless attempts to bring the boy back. It brings to light various issues of poverty in rural China which isn't an everyday subject, perhaps why it gained acclaim at Venice. Issues of the day aren't dependent on sats, paperwork and theory - it's practical, disciplined, valued effort. Wei, the mayor, the children & China through the TV broadcast seem to do some learning and development and it did actually make me cry. No bright colours and swords or Ziyi but perhaps a better effort due to that, a real story.

Realist take on life in modern rural China
Great to see a Chinese film that's not a sweeping historical epic. There's nothing grand or pretentious about Not One Less - none of the characters are actors, which makes it almost documentary-like. It's simply ordinary life in China today; it's unaffected and absolutely gorgeous