Rating: 
Summary: Like seeing it for the first time!
Review: "Some parts are so out of whack and so unrealistic that it is funny, even if it was not intentionally filmed to be so. One wonders how a teacher can be so stupid at times."I didn't think the director meant to be funny. It's just that people in rural area in the remote parts of China have very little education and exposure compared to what we have here in the US, adults and children alike. For the main character Wei, I didn't give it a doubt why she acted the way she did, and I thought she was very real, as real as real can be. What most people perceive, in general, is very different from their reality.
Rating: 
Summary: Words in Pastel Chalk across a rugged blackboard
Review: "The Road Home" is a love story that includes teaching as a theme. "Not on Less" focuses more on the students in a one-room schoolhouse. I felt both had a purpose. "Not One Less" is about how a reluctant teenager comes to a small village to teach. She is told she will get paid if she can keep all the students in school. Wei Minzhi (the 13-year old substitute teacher) not only lacks experience in teaching, she doesn't really want to be there. At first she seems more interested in the money, but as the movie progresses we see a change in her attitude. What is amusing is that even though she seems so focused on getting her pay, this focus helps the students learn valuable lessons. One of the students has to leave to try to make money in the city to help support his family and to pay off their debts. In America, we often take education for granted. In China, poverty forces more than one million children to leave school each year. 15 percent return due to charitable donations. While the attitude of Wei Minzhi borders on annoying at times, you probably won't forget this story anytime soon. The children in this film are a delight. They will steal your heart. You may even find yourself wanting to bring more awareness to various causes. Of all the charitable organizations I've heard of, World Vision seems to be doing the best job of getting
money to the needy. While I had expected something like" The Road Home," I can say this movie has a real message that comes from the heart. Yimou Zhang has the ability to see into the soul and brings out emotions in the viewer that are so rare these days. I think this movie appeals to the desire in all of us to be not only unique, but to be important in a big world. The fact that a teacher goes looking for one student in a city in order to keep a class together seems to imply "the importance of the individual." The ending of this movie is well worth waiting for.
Rating: 
Summary: A powerful story about the powerless
Review: A 13-year-old girl has been assigned to teach a large classroom of grade-schoolers. She struggles with the limited resources and knowledge she has, but in the end she is able to establish a connection with her class. The highpoint of the film is when she sets out to the city in order to track down a pupil of her's. She will not get paid, if she doesn't keep the class intact. Zhang spins a very rewarding story. Simple and heart-warming, an excellent film for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Change of Motive and Roles
Review: A very simple and easy film that brings you hope and joy. It is ironic that the plot changes the substitute teacher Wei's motive of searching for dropped-out Zhang from money to desperate sympathy. Likewise, the usually neglected bloodless standalone SONY TV in the street-side restaurant changed it role when it was spreading humanistic messages pledging for its viewers to help looking for Zhang. Perhaps also the role of the sweet cans of COKE as a thirst-quenching agent for the school children after work. No wonder the companies appeared as sponsors at the end of the movie. A very good and well shot movie. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Went well in a classroom
Review: Although the movie was far from action packed, it worked well in a class of English Language Learners. I am not sure it would work with a class of American born students as it might have some "eat your dinner there are children starving in ___(fill in the blank of a country that is underdeveloped)" heavy handedness...but for kids who come from underdeveloped countries, having to read the subtitles is good practice, movies always go over well and even though it drags a bit, my kids pulled alot out of it.
Rating:
Summary: A underappreciated masterpiece.
Review: Everything about this movie -- the music, the story, the characters, the universal themes of education and the value of the individual -- is extremely moving. It is even more so upon reflection. The scene of the child teacher on television tearfully asking for the return of her student, and the final images of the children writing words of hope on the blackboard cannot be easilly forgotten. Not at all pretentious, it's a simple, sensitive tale about humanity that lifts the viewer into a higher level of the sublime. I know many people of various ages and cultures who have seen "Not One Less" and who also have fallen in love with this film. A must-see!
Rating:
Summary: Must see movie
Review: Great movie, very emotional. I have always been a big fan of Zhang's work. This is his best. It's a story about real people in china's countryside. Make me want to do something to help them.
Rating:
Summary: Inspired by "Not One Less"
Review: I am a first year teacher who was inspired by the tenacity of the young substitute teacher in "Not One Less." I teach hard to reach kids so much like the feisty youth in this rural Chinese school. Everytime I handle a piece of chalk I think of the powerful message of this story -- each child is like that piece of chalk that if not handled with care and gentleness, will fall to pieces. The state of education around the world is at issue. The reality is that teachers first choose the profession because they need to earn money, but those who stay in the profession are there because they care about their charges, refusing to accept that one less will learn.
Rating:
Summary: Poignant and thoughtful Chinese film
Review: I disagree with the review that called this movie "hilarious." On the contrary, it deals with serious issues like abject poverty and child labor in a setting where schooling is viewed as a luxury. There are plenty of heartwarming moments, but save this one until you're in the mood for reflection rather than laughter. As the film begins, a young Chinese teenager with little education herself shows up at a one-room schoolhouse in a rural village to substitute while the real teacher is on leave. Too inexperienced to teach her students effectively, she soon finds that her greatest challenge is simply keeping the kids enrolled in the school. The movie chronicles her efforts to save a boy whose parents have removed him from school in hopes that he might work in the city to save his family from debt. Although initially slow with periods of little dialogue, this movie really grew on me. I smiled, I cried, and I cheered the determined protagonist on. A film I will not soon forget.
Rating:
Summary: this movie you must see
Review: I HAVE NOTTHING TO SAY,THE WHOLE MOVIE IS A TOUR-DE-FORCE.
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