One Second

Play trailer

One Second

2020

1h 44m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

25 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

A movie fan strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.

Cath Clarke

Guardian

A simple, humane story told in metaphors, a film that might work for kids old enough to read the subtitles, appealing to their sense of injustice.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 14, 2022

Full Review

David Ehrlich

indieWire

While there are a handful of touching images during the film's home stretch, "One Second" never betrays that ambivalence for the sake of easy tears or a pat message.

Rated: B

Sep 23, 2021

Full Review

Jessica Kiang

Variety

Despite censorship, Zhang Yimou's tale of the power of cinema has a gorgeous eye, a droll sense of humor and a big, full celluloid heart.

Sep 20, 2021

Full Review

Panos Kotzathanasis

Asian Movie Pulse

“One Second” does not reach the levels of Zhang Yimou’s masterpieces of the category, as in the case of Raise the Red Lanterns, but remains a well-shot, well acted movie that manages to make a number of pointy comments while entertaining its audience.

Rated: 6.5

Jan 2, 2023

Full Review

Mitchell Beaupre

Awards Radar

Nothing else could have captured this rallying cry for the importance of film preservation the way that One Second’s conclusion does.

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 22, 2022

Full Review

Zoë Rose Bryant

Next Best Picture

One Second may not scale the heights of some of Zhang Yimou's most monumental films, but this impassioned ode to the magic of the movies is still an engaging exploration of the way we all interact with art and the long-lasting impact it has on our lives.

Rated: 7/10

Jul 14, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Esra Y

Yimou is truly a master but i can't help but think his 90s aesthetic would've made this script much more heartfelt.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/01/25

Full Review

isla s

This is compared to Cinema Paradiso (a sort of Asian version of that classic film) I believe but its not really directly comparable - don't get me wrong, it is about love of film but for different reasons and it has more of a dark feel to it. I was frankly surprised that the film was able to play (that is the film shown in the cinema during this film). The title will make sense once you've seen the film itself. I liked the lampshade partly made out of film reels - that was a nice touch. This isn't as good as Cinema Paradiso but its still a reasonably good film never the less, so I'd recommend it but perhaps not as much as Paradiso.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Yimou Zhang

Director

Yi Zhang

Zhang Jiusheng

Wei Fan

Fan Dianying, Mr. Movie

Haocun Liu

Orphan Liu

Ailei Yu

Officer Cui

Shaobo Zhang

Little Boy Liu

Sometimes I Think About Dying

82%

69%

Sometimes I Think About Dying

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Sometimes I Think About Dying

Chestnut

50%

55%

Chestnut

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Chestnut

As I Am

50%

71%

As I Am

Watchlist

DAU. Natasha

85%

%

DAU. Natasha

Watchlist

The Life Ahead

92%

77%

The Life Ahead

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Life Ahead

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

A movie fan strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.

Director: Yimou Zhang
Producer: Ping Dong, William Kong, Liwei Pang, Pang Liwei
Screenwriter: Yimou Zhang
Production Co: Huanxi Media Group
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Runtime: 1h 44m