Not One Less (Yi ge dou bu neng shao) poster & wallpaper
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Wei Minzhi, Zhang Huike, Tian Zhenda, Gao Enman, Sun Zhimei ... see more see more... , Li Fanfan

In a village in China mired in poverty, Gao (Gao Enman) is the lone teacher in a school so threadbare he must ration chalk to make sure he has enough for the day. The destitution of the village is not... read more read more... limited to the school; some of the children sleep in the schoolhouse because they have nowhere else to go, and many students have already dropped out to go to work to help feed their families. Gao is forced to leave town for a month, and no one in the village is able to take over for him except a 13-year-old girl, Wei Minzhi (Wei Minzhi), who possesses only the most rudimentary education herself. What she lacks in educational credential, she makes up for in determination -- she needs money, and teaching is an honest job that pays, and since she'll get a 10 yuan bonus if all 28 students are still attending when Gao gets back, she is determined that no one will drop out on her watch. So when one student turns up missing, and word has it he's been sent to the city by his mother to work, she travels to the city to look for him. In a place where thousands of children are working in the underground labor force or begging on the street, one boy hardly stands out from the crowd, and she has little luck. However, she's able to persuade a sympathetic TV station manager to let her make an announcement in hopes someone knows where he has gone. Despite its serious and often grim theme, Yi Ge Dou Bu Neng Shao is often light in tone and draws on the strength and humor of its characters; the film won the Golden Lion at the 1999 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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87% liked it

5,533 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

43 critics

G, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Yimou Zhang

Release Date: February 18, 2000

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DVD Release Date: August 22, 2000

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Stats: 330 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (330)

  • itsjustme2004
    December 4, 2010
    itsjustme2004
    Do you have a heart that beats inside your body? If you do, then you will like this film. It starts out a little slow, but gets better in the middle and ends with a powerful climax. Yimou Zhang direction is perfect. He just simply tells the story, and it looks great. There is no ... read moreego, or fancy editing. The kids in this film are about the cutest things I've ever seen, and are very true to life. In fact, all of this film is very true to life......and like life, it can be beautiful and sad at the same time.
  • swimbikebeer
    January 23, 2010
    swimbikebeer
    a 13 year old substitute teacher for a very poor village school, goes to the big city to look for one of her students, they experience lonliness, begging for food. good movie, rent it!
  • sitenoise
    August 4, 2009
    sitenoise
    Somehow, thirteen year old Wei Minzhi, who appears unable to act her way out of a paper bag turns in the performance of a lifetime. Blushing, awkward body language, a drifting gaze, and an pre-adolescent thespian's grasp of dialog pacing, filmed docu-realistically, come together ... read moreto create the most endearing character I've seen in a long time. The film employs nonprofessional actors throughout, mostly children, to amazing effect. It's painful to think that this film portrays a reality of rural China so the story all by itself will probably make you cry. Seeing the story presented by a cast of real people makes it all the more powerful. The stubborn persistence of Wei's character, at first unrealistic, becomes poetic and inspiring. The ending might seem a little contrived but if ever there was a story that deserved a happy ending it's this one. A remarkable film.
  • nstanosheck
    April 12, 2008
    nstanosheck
    This was a really touching movie. While the substitute teacher first makes her journey based on greed alone, both she and the missing student realize how much they miss one another. Their plight is finally picked up by the press and it not only reunites them but helps the sufferi... read moreng village. A real heart warmer.
  • matricialynnicus
    March 15, 2008
    matricialynnicus
    I love films like this about stubborn females overcoming obstacles. It's a good film. I was going to list the Story of Qiu Ju as well here, but it wasn't in the database. Both are Zhang Yimou fims. (NT)
  • Jomin96
    December 18, 2007
    Jomin96
    One of the finest movie to come-out of mainland China. Moving. Touching. Funny. Endearing. Wei Minzhi is a real discovery!
    Unforgettable.
  • thetzeng
    July 7, 2007
    thetzeng
    A Chinese film sensation that swept through the United States. Obviously better than the average US film, but not that great in Chinese movie standards.
  • samvoice
    April 4, 2007
    samvoice
    Wonderful!! It was one of my first foregn language films. I was 10 then. Engaging and beautiful. It's a must see. Great plot and acting.
  • weichen420
    March 30, 2007
    weichen420
    My Chinese teacher in high school showed the film to the class...and just sat there, I think he could hear our silent tears.

View All Not One Less (Yi ge dou bu neng shao) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Rick Groen
March 22, 2002
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

This thematic 'lesson' is served up with non-didactic grace complemented by tiny bursts of humour. Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 1, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

This alternately sad-funny film sneaks up on you. Its ability to grab us is surprising because it does so little, because it's so spare -- so unadorned and unpretentious. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

For Chinese viewers, this film will play as a human drama. For Western viewers, there's almost equal interest at the edges of the screen, in the background, in the locations and incidental details tha... Full Review

Leslie Camhi
January 1, 2000
Leslie Camhi, Village Voice

With Not One Less, Zhang Yimou has fashioned what feels like an uncannily accurate portrait of a culture where Communist ideology has vanished like a brief dream, as traditional community values clash... Full Review

A.O. Scott
January 1, 2000
A.O. Scott, New York Times

Despite its deliberate austerity, Not One Less is extraordinarily rich. Full Review

Peter Rainer
January 1, 2000
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

The Chinese director Zhang Yimou has a rare gift for dramatizing highly theatrical stories in highly naturalistic settings. Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
January 1, 2000
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Small movie, big impact. Full Review

Peter Stack
January 1, 2000
Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

It's an excellent movie for kids, because it is about how amazing children can be. Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
January 1, 2000
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

This film may seem slow, and its concerns distant to many American viewers. But Not One Less is a movie whose humanity is irresistibly, even joyfully, accessible. Full Review

Michael Dequina
January 3, 2010
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

That these non-actors are able to so convincingly bring this highly emotional fictional story to life is the true mark of a master filmmaker at work. Full Review

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