Not One Less directed by Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou's films have often stirred up controversy in China with the government banning showings of some of his films within China, so he has been seen as a 'political' director by the West although he denies this, claiming he only makes films.
Not One Less had a rough ride when presented at Cannes on its release in 1999. It was seen by the festival officials as a pro-Chinese government film - as Chinese propaganda, and was later withdrawn by the director. Seems unfair as his film history has been one of strong depiction of poverty and inequality within China. Indeed his own father was an officer in the Kuomintang, which meant that Zhang Yimou's family would have been treated badly by the Maoists thus giving him a good depth of understanding across class and politics.
Anyway, enough of the background. Not One Less is based on a true story set in a remote village. The teacher,Gao, whose mother is very sick must go away to visit her for a month. The village mayor finds a substitute teacher, Wei Minzhi, but the only problem is that she's 13 and not very forthcoming. Teacher Gao leaves the village reluctantly but not before issuing orders concerning excessive chalk usage and most important of all that young Wei mustn't allow any of the children to abandon school as Gao has already lost enough pupils.
One youngster goes missing and when Wei finds out that he's been sent to the city to work as his family is in debt, she juts out her chin and marches off determined to fetch him back. She's a tough, stubborn little cookie, but soon finds out that the city is a big place. Thus starts a tale of the huge difference between life in rural and urban China.
What's remarkable about this film is that Wei is played by Wei herself and all the characters are played by non-actors. The mayor is played by a village mayor, the teacher
is Teacher Gao, the train announcer is a train announcer, and so on. Many of the scenes filmed in the city when Wei is desparately searching for the missing lad are filmed by Yimou with a hidden camera. You see real life reactions to this bedraggled looking girl, a salutary lesson in peoples perception of poverty.
The ending is a little fairytale, but then if that's what happened so be it. However seen another way it can be taken as a statement of the power of the media to enable, and hopefully not to forget.
A little supplementary info - according to
this Chinese website, young Wei ended up at an American university in Hawaii so maybe we haven't heard the last of her
4/5