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3 July 2001
 Director:
Zhang Yimou
Cast: Wei Minzhi,Zhang Huike
Duration: 106 minutes
By Sarah
Shi Xiangsheng's story, based on his own experience, is a rural fable
set in a tiny village in remote China. In the province of Hebei, the dry
high plains and sparse lifestyle lead to an undoubtedly meagre existence.
When, local teacher Gao has to leave for one month to visit his sick mother,
13 year old Wei is dragged in from a neighbouring village as a substitute
teacher.
Although teacher Gao realises the enormity of the task resting on such
young shoulders, he has no choice. Facing the circumstance with hard rationalism,
he tells her to copy lessons from the book they have, using no more that
one piece of chalk a day. He tells her that if she keeps the dwindling
class intact, she will be paid, and with a bonus: hence the title, 'Not
One Less'.
Being thrust into her position, Wei has no desire or aptitude for the
task, and she is little more academically advanced than those she teaches.
Although she cannot discipline the children, she continues to stubbornly
write the lessons on the board and posts herself by the classroom door,
to bar escape.
Gradually, Wei becomes used to her class, until one day, eleven-year-old
pupil Zhang leaves unannounced for the city in order to earn money for
his destitute family. Dreading failure, Wei is desperate and determines
to go and find Zhang.
Thus the second part of the film takes place in the bewildering harshness
of urban civilisation. Without any forethought, Wei attempts different
schemes to reach the city to find Zhang. She has no idea how far it is,
how long it will take, or what lies ahead when she gets there. But in
her naivety, she is undaunted.
To British audiences, Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou is renown for films
such as 'Raise The Red Lantern' and 'Red Sorghum'. Although 'Not
One Less' retains the use of vibrant colour and imagery that so prevalent
in his films, Zhang returns to a near-documentary style, occasionally
using hidden cameras, much as he had done in The Story of Qiu Jiu seven
years earlier.
The simple directness of the camerawork is enhanced by the use of an entirely
non-professional cast, all using their real names. The mayor is a real
mayor and Teacher Gao really teaches children for a living. These all
add to the spontaneity and realistic nature of the film.
Although the film is set in a place so different to British culture, there
are many themes that cross cultural and geographical boundaries. We can
remember what it was like at school when we see the intimate scenes of
the children's boredom and listlessness, and the stubborn refusal
of Wei to give up her search. We can all identify with the effects of
the town on rural villages.
'Not One Less' retains a perspective on the innocence and naiveté
that children live in. Without a window on the wide world and without
the reservations of complexities of modern life, Teacher Wei and these
children are completely innocent.
Such innocence is heightened by the way in which Zhang tackles the enormous
problems of poverty and under-financed education, specifically in the
desperately poor villages in China. The film tells us that a million children
have to drop out of school every year in order to work at the family home
or in a nearby city, often on their own.
The film is direct and honest portraying a lifetime's worth of living.
Zhang show us the significance of desperation and heroism in the lives
of ordinary people.
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