Not One Less

G

Released Sep 7, 1999

1h 46m

Drama

List

96%

Tomatometer

47 Reviews

90%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

In a poverty-stricken village, a teacher goes away for a month and leaves a barely literate teenage girl (Minzhi Wei) in his place.

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

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

Rated: 3/4

Mar 22, 2002

Full Review

Panos Kotzathanasis

Asian Movie Pulse

Despite the controversy the film brought particularly among critics, “Not One Less” is a triumph of neorealism and an extremely well-shot movie that manages to present its comments in the most eloquent fashion though a captivating story

Rated: 7

Jul 16, 2023

Full Review

Dennis Lim

Out Magazine

Wei sets off on a rescue odyssey that derives humor from the young heroine's alarmingly steely determination and pathos from the film's stark depiction of life on the street.

May 24, 2022

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Zhang Yimou directs this excellent film in a style very close to neorealism and docufiction. It forms a highly intelligible hybrid between documentary and subtler narrative fiction. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 8/10

Jul 19, 2020

Full Review

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Kyle M

Director Zhang Yimou settled down and nicely attempted neorealism with enough performative energy to decently carry the story that fell short, eventually out of the directorial grasp defaced with coerced cheesy motivation despite the ideal power. (B)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/12/23

Full Review

Massoud H

Such a beautiful film

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/17/23

Full Review

jordan m

I don't see how there was any argument whatsoever about this being critical of the Chinese government. I get that their censors approved it and even helped promote the movie domestically, but that seems to be because Zhang pulled a fast one on them. If I was an oppressive government the absolute last thing I would use as propaganda in my favor is a movie showing one of my villages in such squalor that they ration their chalk and send their kids off to die of starvation in hopes of earning a paycheck at age ~8. I did like the movie quite a lot though, especially for a foreign language one as I've had a bad stretch of those where they were highly-rated but came off to me like something any mediocre Hollywood director could've done. I don't think that's the case at all here, and a lot of that has to do with the realism and the performance from the leading girl, who did a great job inhabiting a character whose obstinacy bordered on a mental illness. There were several scenes that plucked the heartstrings more effectively than any English movie I've seen in a while!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

s r

Simple, yet moving. A great insight into rural China and their schooling traditions.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

I could be the only one who hated this movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Absolutely loved this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

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Yimou Zhang

Director

Minzhi Wei

Wei Minzhi

Zhang Huike

Zhang Huike

Tian Zhenda

Village Chief

Gao Enman

Teacher Gao

Sun Zhimei

Sun Zhimei

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Synopsis

In a poverty-stricken village, a teacher goes away for a month and leaves a barely literate teenage girl (Minzhi Wei) in his place.

Director: Yimou Zhang
Producer: Weiping Zhang
Screenwriter: Xiangsheng Shi
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics, Columbia TriStar Home Video
Production Co: Film Productions Asia, Guangxi Film Studios, Beijing New Picture Film Co., Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: G
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 7, 1999, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $589.1K
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR

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