Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Not One Less
NOT ONE LESS is a movie directed by Zhang Yimou in 1999. Golden Lion of the 1999 Venice Film Festival.
In a small remote village of China, a 13 years old farmer girl is asked to replace the local teacher for a month. The children come from very poor families who often prefer to withdraw them from school and put them to work. So the young Wei Minzhi is told that she will be paid only if all the children are still there when the teacher comes back.
Wei Minzhi will slowly gain the respect of the children until the day the young Zhan doesn't come to school. Zhan has decided to go to the city and work in order to help his mother. Wei doesn't accept this situation and, alone, leaves the village to bring back Zhan.
She'll quickly find out that Zhan has got lost when he arrived to the city and that he must be wandering in the streets yearning for food. Wei, unaware of the city habits, goes straight to the television center and asks for the director of the station. She hopes that he will help her to find Zhan.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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Analysis of Not One Less
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Job/Profession/Poverty Story?
Yes
Job:
- teacher
Ethnic/Regional/Gender story?
Yes
Main Char. ethnic: (if not US Caucasian)
- Chinese
Woman/class/friends story?
- story of lower class
Story of city/rural life?
- Small Town
Culture of surrounding area:
- Chinese
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- teacher/professor
Age:
- a teen
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- wild
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (woman) long straight
Body type
- (woman) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- caring
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Chinese
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Chinese
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
Setting
Asia/Pacific/Middle East
Yes
Asian country:
- China
City?
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Misc setting
- school
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- very happy
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- Chinese
Subtitles?
- Yes
Any profanity?
- None
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Orchestra/classical
Is this movie based on a
- book
