Misplaced Pages

#376623

85-541: Not One Less is a 1999 drama film by Chinese director Zhang Yimou , adapted from Shi Xiangsheng 's 1997 story A Sun in the Sky (Chinese: 天上有个太阳 ; pinyin: tiān shàng yǒu ge tàiyáng ). It was produced by Guangxi Film Studio and released by China Film Group Corporation in mainland China , and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics in North America and Columbia TriStar Film Distributors internationally. Set in

170-449: A public service announcement , and Philip Kemp of Sight & Sound wrote, "All that's missing is the address we should send donations to." Zhang Xiaoling, on the other hand, considered the titles to be an implicit criticism of the state of rural education in China, saying, "the news that voluntary contributions have helped 15 percent of the pupils to return to school is aimed to give rise to

255-403: A "discrimination against Chinese films". Not One Less has an approval rating of 96% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , based on 47 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6/10. Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generaly favourable reviews". Many focused on the film's ending title cards: several compared them to

340-452: A "heroic" character who demonstrates how obstinacy can be a virtue, whereas Richard Corliss of Time says she is "no brighter or more resourceful than [her students]". Reactions to the city portion of the movie were also mixed: while Zhang describes the second half of the film as an eloquent commentary on China's urban-rural divide and Kevin Lally calls it "startling", Kemp criticizes it for being

425-462: A better understanding of the film. According to the taxonomy, combining the type with the genre does not create a separate genre. For instance, the "Horror Drama" is simply a dramatic horror film (as opposed to a comedic horror film). "Horror Drama" is not a genre separate from the horror genre or the drama type. Crime dramas explore themes of truth, justice, and freedom, and contain the fundamental dichotomy of "criminal vs. lawman". Crime films make

510-404: A futile attempt to stop them; and yet they, the sports recruiter and mayor, first notice and comment on Wei's running ability, endurance, and tenacity. One day, after trying to make the troublemaker Zhang apologize for bothering another student, Wei discovers that Zhang has left to go find work in the nearby city of Zhangjiakou . The village mayor is unwilling to give her money for a bus ticket to

595-685: A more central component of the story, along with serious content.  Examples include Three Colours: White (1994), The Truman Show (1998), The Man Without a Past (2002), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), and Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Coined by film professor Ken Dancyger , these stories exaggerate characters and situations to the point of becoming fable, legend or fairy tale.  Examples: Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Maleficent (2014). Light dramas are light-hearted stories that are, nevertheless, serious in nature.  Examples: The Help (2011) and The Terminal (2004). Psychological dramas are dramas that focus on

680-531: A notice forbidding unauthorized production or distribution of the film. This was the first time China had enacted special copyright protections for a domestic film. On 21 April 1999, Hubei province's Culture Office issued an "Urgent Notice for Immediate Confiscation of Pirated Not One Less VCDs", and two days later the Culture Office and movie company joined forces to conduct raids on ten audio-video stores, seizing pirated discs from six of them. Although it

765-400: A particular setting or subject matter, or they combine a drama's otherwise serious tone with elements that encourage a broader range of moods . To these ends, a primary element in a drama is the occurrence of conflict —emotional, social, or otherwise—and its resolution in the course of the storyline. All forms of cinema or television that involve fictional stories are forms of drama in

850-633: A person's life and raises their level of importance. The "small things in life" feel as important to the protagonist (and the audience) as the climactic battle in an action film, or the final shootout in a western.  Often, the protagonists deal with multiple, overlapping issues in the course of the film – just as we do in life.  Films of this type/genre combination include: The Wrestler (2008), Fruitvale Station (2013), and Locke (2013). Romantic dramas are films with central themes that reinforce our beliefs about love (e.g.: themes such as "love at first sight", "love conquers all", or "there

935-556: A predictable "Victorian cliché". Rights to distribute the film were purchased by the China Film Group Corporation, a state-sponsored organization, and the government actively promoted the film. It was officially released in mainland China in April 1999 , although there were showings as early as mid-February. Sheldon H. Lu reports that the film grossed ¥ 18 million, an average amount, in its first three months of showing; by

SECTION 10

#1732934648377

1020-471: A question: what about the remaining 85 percent?" The disagreement about the title cards is also reflected in the critical reaction to the rest of the film's resolution. Kemp described the ending as "feelgood" and criticized the film for portraying officials and generous cityfolk as coming to the rescue, The Washington Post ' s Desson Howe called the ending "flag-waving", and The Independent ' s Gilbert Adair called it "sugary". Alberto Barbera of

1105-404: A result of filming with inexperienced actors. Zhang had to work closely with government censors during production of the film. He related how the censors "kept reminding [me] not to show China as too backward and too poor", and said that on the title cards at the end of the movie he had to write that the number of rural children dropping out of school each year was one million, although he believed

1190-457: A specific approach to drama but, rather, consider drama as a lack of comedic techniques.  Examples: Ghost World (2001) and Wuthering Heights (2011). According to the Screenwriters' Taxonomy, all film descriptions should contain their type (comedy or drama) combined with one (or more) of the eleven super-genres. This combination does not create a separate genre, but rather, provides

1275-445: A teacher, she's Wei Chunzhi's big sister!" After putting the lesson on the board, Wei usually sits outside, guarding the door to make sure no students leave until they have finished their work. Early in the month, a sports recruiter comes to take one athletic girl, Ming Xinhong, to a special training school; unwilling to let any students leave, Wei hides Ming, and when the village mayor (Tian Zhenda) finds her, Wei chases after their car in

1360-447: Is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction ) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-genre, macro-genre, or micro-genre, such as soap opera , police crime drama , political drama , legal drama , historical drama , domestic drama , teen drama , and comedy-drama (dramedy). These terms tend to indicate

1445-526: Is a final fight to the death; the idea of the protagonists facing death is a central expectation in a war drama film. In a war film even though the enemy may out-number, or out-power, the hero, we assume that the enemy can be defeated if only the hero can figure out how.   Examples include: Apocalypse Now (1979), Come and See (1985), Braveheart (1995), Life Is Beautiful (1997), Black Book (2006), The Hurt Locker (2008), 1944 (2015), Wildeye (2015), and 1917 (2019). Films in

1530-456: Is also a determined, stubborn woman; likewise, Qiu Ju is also filmed in a neo-realistic style, set partially in contemporary rural China and partially in the city, and employs mostly amateur actors. Not One Less portrays the mass media as a locus of power: Wei discovers that only someone with money or connections can gain access to a television station, but once someone is on camera she or he becomes part of an "invisible media hegemony " with

1615-503: Is interested in her story and decides to feature Wei in a talk show special about rural education. On the talk show, Wei is nervous and hardly says a word when the host (Li Fanfan) addresses her, but Zhang—who has been wandering the streets begging for food—sees the show. After Wei and Zhang are reunited, the station manager arranges to have them driven back to Shuiquan village, along with a truckload of school supplies and donations that viewers had sent in. Upon their return, they are greeted by

1700-410: Is left unclear whether Wei's search for Zhang Huike is motivated by altruism or by the promise of a 10-yuan bonus. Zhu Ying points out the prominence of money in the film creates a conflict between traditional Confucian values (such as the implication that the solutions to Wei's problems can be found through the help of authority figures) and modern, capitalist and individualistic society. Finally,

1785-421: Is someone out there for everyone"); the story typically revolves around characters falling into (and out of, and back into) love. Annie Hall (1977), The Notebook (2004), Carol (2015), Her (2013) , and La La Land (2016) are examples of romance dramas. The science fiction drama film is often the story of a protagonist (and their allies) facing something "unknown" that has the potential to change

SECTION 20

#1732934648377

1870-622: Is that in a documentary it uses real people to describe history or current events; in a docudrama it uses professionally trained actors to play the roles in the current event, that is "dramatized" a bit. Examples: Black Mass (2015) and Zodiac (2007). Unlike docudramas, docu-fictional films combine documentary and fiction, where actual footage or real events are intermingled with recreated scenes. Examples: Interior. Leather Bar (2013) and Your Name Here (2015). Many otherwise serious productions have humorous scenes and characters intended to provide comic relief . A comedy drama has humor as

1955-599: The Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and in 1986 the National People's Congress enacted a law calling for nine years of compulsory education. By 1993, it was clear that much of the country was making little progress on implementing nine-year compulsory education, so the 1993–2000 seven-year plan focused on this goal. One of the major challenges educators faced was the large number of rural schoolchildren dropping out to pursue work. Another issue

2040-540: The People's Republic of China during the 1990s, the film centers on a 13-year-old substitute teacher, Wei Minzhi, in the Chinese countryside . Called in to substitute for a village teacher for one month, Wei is told not to lose any students. When one of the boys takes off in search of work in the big city, she goes looking for him. The film addresses education reform in China , the economic gap between urban and rural populations, and

2125-473: The Venice Film Festival , on the other hand, said that while the end of the film may have been like propaganda, the rest was a "strong denunciation of a regime that is unable to assure proper education for the country children". Likewise, Zhang Xiaoling argued that although the film superficially appears to praise the city people and officials, its subtext is harshly critical of them: he pointed out that

2210-755: The western super-genre often take place in the American Southwest or Mexico, with a large number of scenes occurring outdoors so we can soak in scenic landscapes. Visceral expectations for the audience include fistfights, gunplay, and chase scenes. There is also the expectation of spectacular panoramic images of the countryside including sunsets, wide open landscapes, and endless deserts and sky.   Examples of western dramas include: True Grit (1969) and its 2010 remake , Mad Max (1979), Unforgiven (1992), No Country for Old Men (2007), Django Unchained (2012), Hell or High Water (2016), and Logan (2017). Some film categories that use

2295-540: The "commercial entertainment wave" of popular film. Noel Vera of BusinessWorld writes that the film concerns itself mainly with emotional impact, at the expense of visual extravagance, making it the opposite of earlier Zhang Yimou films such as Red Sorghum . Other critics noted the strength of the film's storytelling; for instance, Rainer called the film an "uncommon, and uncommonly moving, love story", and Film Journal International ' s Kevin Lally described it as "a poignant story of poverty and spirit reminiscent of

2380-489: The Apes (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Blade Runner (1982) and its sequel Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Children of Men (2006), Interstellar (2014), and Arrival (2016). In the sports super-genre, characters will be playing sports. Thematically, the story is often one of "Our Team" versus "Their Team"; their team will always try to win, and our team will show the world that they deserve recognition or redemption;

2465-501: The West seems for a long time to have had just the one 'political' reading: if it's not "against the government" then it's "for the government". The naïveté and lack of perspective [lit. "one-sidedness"] of using so simple a concept to judge a film is obvious. With respect to the works of directors from America, France and Italy for example, I doubt you have the same point of view. Neither Not One Less nor Zhang's other 1999 film The Road Home

2550-433: The apparently benevolent TV station manager seems to be motivated more by audience ratings than by altruism, that the receptionist's callous manner towards Wei is a result of Chinese "bureaucratism and nepotism", and that for all the good things about the city, Zhang Huike's clearest memory of city life is having to beg for food. Zhang and Kraicer both argued that critics who see the film as pro-government propaganda are missing

2635-407: The audience jump through a series of mental "hoops"; it is not uncommon for the crime drama to use verbal gymnastics to keep the audience and the protagonist on their toes.   Examples of crime dramas include: The Godfather (1972), Chinatown (1974), Goodfellas (1990), The Usual Suspects (1995), The Big Short (2015), and Udta Punjab (2016). According to Eric R. Williams ,

Not One Less - Misplaced Pages Continue

2720-411: The board and then making the students copy them into their notebooks; he also tells her not to use more than one piece of chalk per day, because the village is too poor to afford more. Before leaving, he explains to her that many students have recently left school to find work in the cities, and he offers her a 10 yuan bonus if all the students are still there when he returns. Wei Minzhi, you look after

2805-412: The broader sense if their storytelling is achieved by means of actors who represent ( mimesis ) characters . In this broader sense, drama is a mode distinct from novels, short stories , and narrative poetry or songs . In the modern era, before the birth of cinema or television, "drama" within theatre was a type of play that was neither a comedy nor a tragedy . It is this narrower sense that

2890-533: The characters' inner life and psychological problems. Examples: Requiem for a Dream (2000), Oldboy (2003), Babel (2006), Whiplash (2014), and Anomalisa (2015) Satire can involve humor, but the result is typically sharp social commentary that is anything but funny. Satire often uses irony or exaggeration to expose faults in society or individuals that influence social ideology.  Examples: Thank You for Smoking (2005) and Idiocracy (2006). Straight drama applies to those that do not attempt

2975-451: The city, so she resolves to earn the money herself, and recruits the remaining students to help. One girl suggests that they can make money by moving bricks in a nearby brickyard, and Wei begins giving the students mathematical exercises centered on finding out how much money they need to earn for the bus tickets, how many bricks they need to move, and how much time it will take. Through these exercises and working to earn money, her rapport with

3060-439: The class improves. After earning the money, she reaches the bus station but learns that the price is higher than she thought, and she cannot afford a ticket. Wei ends up walking most of the way to Zhangjiakou. In the city, Wei finds the people that Zhang was supposed to be working with, only to discover that they had lost him at the train station days before. She forces another girl her age, Sun Zhimei, to help her look for Zhang at

3145-473: The course of the film. Thematically, horror films often serve as morality tales, with the killer serving up violent penance for the victims' past sins.  Metaphorically, these become battles of Good vs. Evil or Purity vs. Sin.  Psycho (1960), Halloween (1978), The Shining (1980), The Conjuring (2013), It (2017), mother! (2017), and Hereditary (2018) are examples of horror drama films. Day-in-the-life films takes small events in

3230-466: The cut in this manner conforms to the goals of continuity editing , which deemphasizes the presence of the film crew. Cuts serve as transitions between camera angles, such a wide establishing shot and a medium shot . Footage of a moving character may be captured from multiple angles rather than a tracking shot , either for aesthetic reasons or to lessen the risk of damaging a camera while in motion. Cuts are often used in sections of dialogue so that

3315-473: The director may employ close-ups without unnecessary (and visually disturbing) movement of the camera. Such cuts usually follow the 180-degree rule , where the camera angles are kept on the same side of an imaginary border drawn between the subjects. On a broadcast television multiple-camera setup , cuts are performed at the vision mixer by the technical director by simply selecting a different source. On single camera or film setups, cuts are performed by

3400-540: The director's "Action!" command are also recorded. These are edited out to effect a seamless presentation. In practice, the cut does not break the suspension of disbelief necessary to keep an audience engaged to a narrative or program. The cut represents a continuous transition in setting and time —in turn, the dissolve and wipe respectively identify changes in time and setting. In many cases, cuts are also used in place of dissolves or wipes for minor changes, or to edit away insignificant details to maintain pace . Usage of

3485-407: The director, to cast and crew. (It is very unusual for others to yell "cut" without an exceptional reason; mistakes are re-shot during the same take, if possible.) In contrast, a "roll" command signals the beginning of shooting. In between these commands and the actual footage to be captured, various marking elements (the slate ), preparatory actions ( extras , effects, or other costly elements), and

Not One Less - Misplaced Pages Continue

3570-440: The documentary perspective in order to suggest that the story is an accurate reflection of most rural areas in China, while Shelly Kraicer believes that his "simultaneous presentation of seemingly opposing messages" is a powerful artistic method in of itself, and that it allows Zhang to circumvent censors by guaranteeing that the movie will include at least one message that they like. Jean-Michel Frodon of Le Monde maintains that

3655-560: The end of its run in November, it sold ¥40 million at the box office. (In comparison, Zhang's 2002 film Hero would earn ¥270 million three years later.) Nevertheless, Not One Less was the highest-grossing domestic film of 1999, and Laikwan Pang has called it a "box office success". In the United States, the film was released in theaters on 18 February 2000, and grossed $ 50,256 in its first weekend and $ 592,586 overall; The release

3740-481: The family as a whole reacts to a central challenge. There are four micro-genres for the family drama: Family Bond , Family Feud , Family Loss , and Family Rift . A sub-type of drama films that uses plots that appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. Melodramatic plots often deal with "crises of human emotion, failed romance or friendship, strained familial situations, tragedy, illness, neuroses, or emotional and physical hardship". Film critics sometimes use

3825-602: The festival, and published a letter rebuking Cannes for politicization of and "discrimination" against Chinese cinema. The film went on to win the Venice Film Festival 's Golden Lion and several other awards, and Zhang won the award for best director at the Golden Rooster Awards . In the 1990s, primary education reform had become one of the top priorities in the People's Republic of China. About 160 million Chinese people had missed all or part of their education because of

3910-460: The film and cracking down on piracy . Internationally, the film was generally well-received, but it also attracted criticism for its ostensibly political message; foreign critics are divided on whether the film should be read as praising or criticizing the Chinese government. When the film was excluded from the 1999 Cannes Film Festival 's competition section, Zhang withdrew it and another film from

3995-409: The film and television industries, along with film studies , adopted. " Radio drama " has been used in both senses—originally transmitted in a live performance, it has also been used to describe the more high-brow and serious end of the dramatic output of radio . The Screenwriters Taxonomy contends that film genres are fundamentally based upon a film's atmosphere, character and story, and therefore

4080-464: The film creates a "friction" between documentary reality and narrative fiction. This balancing act between the real and the imaginary has drawn comparisons to neorealist works such as those of Iranian directors Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf , and Zhang has openly acknowledged the influence of Kiarostami in this film. Zhang Xiaoling of the University of Nottingham argues that Zhang Yimou used

4165-450: The film illustrates the growing urban–rural divide in China. When Wei reaches Zhangjiakou, the film creates a clear contrast between urban and rural life, and the two locations are physically separated by a dark tunnel. The city is not portrayed as idyllic; rather, Zhang shows that rural people are faced with difficulties and discrimination in the cities. While Wei's first view of the city exposes her to well-dressed people and modern buildings,

4250-444: The film show a "blind faith" in authority figures. While she lacks money and power, Wei overcomes her obstacles through sheer obstinacy and ignorant persistence, suggesting that speech and perseverance can overcome barriers. Wei becomes an example of "heroic obstinacy" and a model of using determination to face "overwhelming odds". For this reason, the film has been frequently compared to Zhang's 1993 The Story of Qiu Ju , whose heroine

4335-400: The film was pro- or anti-government, but made no comment; they praised the film for its realistic portrayal of hardships facing rural people, without speculating about whether Zhang intended to criticize or praise the government's handling of those hardships. Hao Jian of Film Appreciation , on the other hand, was more critical, claiming that the movie was organized around a political message and

SECTION 50

#1732934648377

4420-483: The film was produced "in the shadow of two superpowers" and needed to make compromises with each. The film addresses the prominent place that bureaucracy, and verbal negotiation and struggle, occupy in everyday life in China. Many scenes pit Wei against authority figures such as the village mayor, the announcer in the train station, and the TV station receptionist who also acts as a "gatekeeper". Aside from Wei, many characters in

4505-516: The film's main actors are listed in the table below.) The movie was filmed on location at Chicheng County 's Shuiquan Primary School, and in the city of Zhangjiakou ; both locations are in Hebei province. The movie was filmed in a documentary -like, " neorealist " style involving hidden cameras and natural lighting. There are also, however, elements of heavy editing—for example, Shelly Kraicer noted that many scenes have frequent, rapid cuts , partially as

4590-412: The film—as The Philadelphia Inquirer ' s Steven Rea described the performances, the actors are just "people playing variations of themselves in front of the camera". For instance, Tian Zhenda, who played the mayor, was the real-life mayor of a small village, and the primary actors Wei Minzhi and Zhang Huike were selected from among thousands of students in rural schools. (The names and occupations of

4675-416: The future of humanity; this unknown may be represented by a villain with incomprehensible powers, a creature we do not understand, or a scientific scenario that threatens to change the world; the science fiction story forces the audience to consider the nature of human beings, the confines of time or space or the concepts of human existence in general. Examples include: Metropolis (1927), Planet of

4760-478: The government than by individuals. The film was more popular than most government-promoted films touting the party line and Lu claims that it had "tremendous social support", but Pang points out that its success was "not purely egalitarian, but partly constructed." At the time of Not One Less ' release, DVD and VCD piracy was a growing concern in mainland China, and the China Copyright Office issued

4845-433: The great Italian neo-realists ." Another well-received part of the film was the segment in which Wei teaches math by creating practical examples out of her attempt to raise money for the bus to Zhangjiakou; in the Chinese journal Teacher Doctrines , Mao Wen wrote that teachers should learn from Wei's example and provide students with practical exercises. Wei Minzhi's character received mixed reactions: Scott described her as

4930-416: The hallmark of fantasy drama films is "a sense of wonderment, typically played out in a visually intense world inhabited by mythic creatures, magic or superhuman characters. Props and costumes within these films often belie a sense of mythology and folklore – whether ancient, futuristic, or other-worldly. The costumes, as well as the exotic world, reflect the personal, inner struggles that the hero faces in

5015-408: The labels "drama" and "comedy" are too broad to be considered a genre. Instead, the taxonomy contends that film dramas are a "Type" of film; listing at least ten different sub-types of film and television drama. Docudramas are dramatized adaptations of real-life events. While not always completely accurate, the general facts are more-or-less true. The difference between a docudrama and a documentary

5100-553: The legal system. Films that focus on dramatic events in history. Focuses on doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and ambulance saving victims and the interactions of their daily lives. Focuses on teenage characters, especially where a secondary school setting plays a role. Cut (transition) Due to the short length of early film stock , splicing was necessary to join together segments into long-form. Actuality directors spliced together reels prior to shooting to record for longer periods of time. Narrative directors, on

5185-421: The living quarters she goes to while searching for Zhang Huike are cramped and squalid. Likewise, the iron gate where Wei waits all day for the TV station director reflects the barriers poor people face to survival in the city, and the necessity of connections to avoid becoming an "outsider" in the city. Frequent cuts show Wei and Zhang wandering aimlessly in the streets, Zhang begging for food, and Wei sleeping on

SECTION 60

#1732934648377

5270-426: The most improbably satisfying love scenes on film". The film also received praise for its artistic merits and Hou Yong 's cinematography, even though its visuals were simplistic compared to Zhang's previous films; for example, A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised the "richness" displayed by the film despite its deliberate scarcity of color. Reviewers also pointed out that Zhang had succeeded in breaking away from

5355-494: The number was actually three times that. Not One Less was Zhang's first film to enjoy government support and resources. Thirteen-year-old Wei Minzhi arrives in Shuiquan village to substitute for the village's only teacher (Gao Enman) while he takes a month's leave to care for his ill mother. When Gao discovers that Wei does not have a high school education and has no special talents, he instructs her to teach by copying his texts onto

5440-607: The officials saw it and The Road Home as too anti -government. Rather than have his films shown in a less competitive portion of the festival, Zhang withdrew them both in protest, stating that the movies were apolitical. In an open letter published in the Beijing Youth Daily , Zhang accused the festival of being motivated by other than artistic concerns, and criticized the Western perception that all Chinese films must be either "pro-government" or "anti-government", referring to it as

5525-409: The other hand, preferred shooting for shorter lengths, editing together shot footage. In either case, film was cut (and subsequently joining the cut segments) to remove excess footage, focusing attention on significant elements. The cut has retained its purpose to this day, with alternative uses arising to achieve special effects. To signal the end of media capture, this command is issued primarily by

5610-477: The point and, as Kraicer put it, "mistaking [one] layer as the message of the film ... mistaking the part for the whole". David Ansen of Newsweek and Leigh Paatsch of the Herald Sun each pointed out that, while the film is "deceptive[ly]" positive at face value, it has harsh criticism "bubbling under the surface". Chinese critics Liu Xinyi and Xu Su of Movie Review recognized the dispute abroad over whether

5695-460: The power to "manipulate social behavior", catching people's attention where paper advertisements could not and moving cityfolk to donate money to a country school. The power of television within the film's story, according to Laikwan Pang of the Chinese University of Hong Kong , reflects its prominent place in Chinese society of the late 1990s, when domestic cinema was floundering but television

5780-410: The prevalence of bureaucracy and authority figures in everyday life. It is filmed in a neorealist / documentary style with a troupe of non-professional actors who play characters with the same names and occupations as the actors have in real life, blurring the boundaries between drama and reality. The domestic release of Not One Less was accompanied by a Chinese government campaign aimed at promoting

5865-410: The rest of the day, Wei stands by the station's only gate, stopping every man with glasses, but she does not find the station manager, and spends the night asleep on the street. The next day the station manager (Wu Wanlu) sees her at the gate again, through his window, and lets her in, scolding the receptionist for making her wait outside. Although Wei has no money to run an ad on TV, the station manager

5950-479: The school building, sharing a bed with several female students. The version of the film released overseas ends with a series of title cards in English, the last of which reads, "Each year, poverty forces one million children in China to leave school. Through the help of donations, about 15% of these children return to school." Because the people and locations used in the film are real but are carefully selected and edited,

6035-401: The sidewalk; when an enthusiastic TV host later asks Zhang what part of the city left the biggest impression, Zhang replies that the one thing he will never forget is having to beg for food. A.O. Scott of The New York Times compared the "unbearable" despair of the film's second half to that of Vittorio De Sica 's 1948 Bicycle Thieves . I cannot accept that when it comes to Chinese films,

6120-530: The story does not always have to involve a team. The story could also be about an individual athlete or the story could focus on an individual playing on a team. Examples of this genre/type include:  The Hustler (1961), Hoosiers (1986), Remember the Titans (2000), and Moneyball (2011). War films typically tells the story of a small group of isolated individuals who – one by one – get killed (literally or metaphorically) by an outside force until there

6205-514: The story." Examples of fantasy dramas include The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003), Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), and Life of Pi (2012). Horror dramas often involve the central characters isolated from the rest of society. These characters are often teenagers or people in their early twenties (the genre's central audience) and are eventually killed off during

6290-416: The students. More than ten have already left. I don't want to lose any more. The mayor promised fifty yuan; he'll make sure you get it. If all the students are here when I get back—not one less—you'll get an extra ten yuan. When Wei begins teaching, she has little rapport with the students: they shout and run around instead of copying their work, and the class troublemaker, Zhang Huike, insists that "she's not

6375-578: The term "pejoratively to connote an unrealistic, pathos-filled, camp tale of romance or domestic situations with stereotypical characters (often including a central female character) that would directly appeal to feminine audiences". Also called "women's movies", "weepies", tearjerkers, or "chick flicks". If they are targeted to a male audience, then they are called "guy cry" films. Often considered "soap-opera" drama. Focuses on religious characters, mystery play, beliefs, and respect. Character development based on themes involving criminals, law enforcement and

6460-443: The train station, but they do not find him. Wei has no success finding Zhang through the public address system and "missing person" posters, so she goes to the local television station to broadcast a missing person notice. The receptionist (Feng Yuying) will not let her in without valid identification, though, and says the only way she can enter is with permission from the station manager, whom she describes as "a man with glasses". For

6545-431: The whole village. In the final scene, Wei presents the students with several boxes of colored chalk that were donated, and allows each student to write one character on the board. The film ends with a series of title cards that recount the actions of the characters after the film ends, and describe the problem of poverty in rural education in China. While most of Zhang's early films had been historical epics , Not One Less

6630-488: The word "comedy" or "drama" are not recognized by the Screenwriters Taxonomy as either a film genre or a film type. For instance, "Melodrama" and "Screwball Comedy" are considered Pathways,  while "romantic comedy" and "family drama" are macro-genres. A macro-genre in the Screenwriters Taxonomy. These films tell a story in which many of the central characters are related. The story revolves around how

6715-426: Was a large urban–rural divide: funding and teacher quality were far better in urban schools than rural, and urban students stayed in school longer. Not One Less was Zhang Yimou's ninth film, but only the second not to star long-time collaborator Gong Li (the first was his 1997 Keep Cool ). For this film, he cast only amateur actors whose real-life names and occupations resembled those of characters they played in

6800-566: Was developing quickly; Pang argues that television-watching forms a "collective consciousness" for Chinese citizens, and that the way television unifies people in Not One Less is an illustration of this. Money is important throughout the film. Concerns about money dominate much of the film—for example, a large portion is devoted to Wei and her students' attempt to earn enough money for bus tickets—as well as motivating them. Most major characters, including Wei, demand payment for their actions, and it

6885-441: Was handled by Sony Pictures Classics , and home video distribution by Columbia TriStar ; Not One Less was Columbia's first Chinese film. Lu warns that domestic box office sales are not reliable indicators of a film's popularity in mainland China, because of piracy and because of state or social group sponsorship; many workers were given free tickets to promote the film, and a 1999 report claimed that more tickets were purchased by

6970-440: Was intended to be pro-government. Hao said that Not One Less marked the beginning of Zhang's transformation from an outspoken independent director to one of the government's favorites. Overall, critics were impressed with the performances of the amateur actors, and Jean-Michel Frodon of Le Monde called that the film's greatest success. Peter Rainer of New York Magazine praised the scene of Wei's interview on TV as "one of

7055-421: Was one of the first to focus on contemporary China. The film's main theme involves the difficulties faced in providing rural education in China. When Wei Minzhi arrives in Shuiquan village, the teacher Gao has not been paid in six months and the school building is in disrepair, and chalk is in such short supply that Gao gives Wei specific instructions limiting how large her written characters should be. Wei sleeps in

7140-467: Was selected for the 1999 Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection, the most prestigious competition in the festival, where several of Zhang's earlier films had won awards. The rationale is uncertain; Shelly Kraicer and Zhang Xiaoling claim that Cannes officials viewed the Not One Less ' happy ending, with the main characters' conflicts resolved by the generosity of city dwellers and higher-up officials, as pro-China propaganda, while Zhu Ying claims that

7225-637: Was withdrawn from Cannes, Not One Less went on to win the Golden Lion , the top award at the Venice Film Festival . Zhang also received a best director award at the Golden Rooster , mainland China's most prestigious award ceremony, and the film was voted one of the top three of the year in the Hundred Flowers Awards . Awards the film won or was nominated for are listed below. Drama (film and television) In film and television , drama

#376623