Not One Less

Rating:
Summary: Less is More
Review: Zhang Yimou lifts the vail and provides a wonderous glimpse into life in rural China. The movie tells the story of a young girl who must take over a small rural school while the regular teacher goes away to take care of family matters. If upon the return of the teacher there is "Not One Less" student, she will be paid, but if she looses any of her pupils, the money she so desperately needs will be forfeit. She is soon tested as she finds students are torn between going to school and obligations to help their families tend the land. The young girl, Wei Minzeh, who has no previous acting experience is stunningly sweet, incredibly determined, and savy. It is hard to imagine why she was not nominated for Best Actress. The Director did much more than expose life in China to the outsiders view, he showed the universality of human traits such as indifference, bureaucratic thinking and finally compassion. Ulitimately one realizes that this movie could have just as easily been filmed in West Virginia, Maine or the farmlands of California.

Rating:
Summary: Deeply moving and poetic
Review: Zhang Yimov is a master in conveying the courage from people in disparity in a subtle unpretentious and yet extremely powerful fashion. Unless your heart is made of stone, you will be readily moved by this and develop a strong sense of care and love for those people in a distant land. The cinematography of this movie, like all his movies in the past, is rich, intimate, and works in wonder to bring us so close to the story. This movie used only non-professional actors/actresses, which brings a level of authenticity and freshness, which at times gives the movie the convincing power of a documentary.