Minzhi Wei is marvellous in her eponymous role as the determined thirteen year old substitute teacher in a village primary school in 1990's China. Bearing in mind the artistic and cultural restrictions in China, this film is both a touching portrayal of individual humanity in China, and a searing indictment of the state of China's rural economy and the government's inability to tackle the level of need of its poorest people. By focusing on the individual, Zhang Yimou has none the less laid bear social inequality in Chinese society, and the resulting poor treatment and casting aside of the country's poorest and weakest citizens, with the skill of the finest of surgeons.

There are movies whose stories are so compelling that one can't help but wax enthusiastic: RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES, TOGETHER, WHY HAS BODHI-DHARMA LEFT FOR THE EAST?, THE WAY HOME, RAISE THE RED LANTERN, THE ROAD HOME, MADADAYO, I LIVE IN FEAR, FOR THE CHILDREN, BAREFOOT GEN (both), GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, FROZEN, JU-DOU, IN THIS WORLD... The list sometimes seems endless (although it unfortunately isn't). NOT ONE LESS will wring you dry. The tearful ending is at once heartbreaking and uplifting. Like the very best of the very best movies, this one works like a magic spell from beginning to end. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Long after De Sica made "Bicycle thief" and Fellini his "La Strada," neo-realist traditions grab me like no other in cinema history. The Chinese film "Not one less" made half a century after the Italian masterpieces, underlines several aspects of neo-realist traditions—non-actors can transform into great actors provided you have an intelligent script and a talented director, poverty attracts anyone with a conscience, the candid camera is a marvelous tool, and human values exist to be appreciated irrespective of national boundaries. It truly deserved the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival.A reluctant substitute teacher taking on a job that would fetch a doubtful "50 yuan" from a village mayor with questionable priorities transforms into a national hero in less than a month as she strives hard to ensure the number of her students do not dwindle until the regular teacher returns. Her resolutions transforms the economic state of the school, makes her students into socially responsible "young adults" and teaches a lesson to the wily mayor, a gatekeeper in the city TV station who goes by rules rather than by her discretion.The brilliance of the film is that the film hooks the audience as a thriller would until the film ends. Yet there is no sex, no violence, no beautiful face, no delightful music or engaging camera angles—only reactions caught by candid camera (at least most of the time).The most poignant comment was the young student's comment "I loved the city but it made me beg for food" For a contemporary Chinese film made under tight censorship—the film's director Yimou Zhang seems to offer layers of comment beyond the obvious story line. Did Teacher Wei do what she did for the sake of money or as a responsible teacher? Are you likely to forget propagandist songs but recall simple songs on family values? Are individual greatness (teacher Wei) more appreciated than group actions (school as a group, nation's need for good athletes overriding permission of the parents of potential athletes)? Is the richness of rural lifestyles discounted by rising urban materialism? Does it require an individual's actions to underline the demands of the rural poor? These are hidden questions for each viewer to answer.I have only seen one other film of director Yimou Zhang and that is "Red Sorghum". "Not one less" towers over "Red Sorghum" in every department of film-making.I saw this Chinese film on an Indian TV channel. I only wish more such international films get shown widely on TV throughout the world. It would raise the bar of what constitutes good cinema to many who currently have little idea of good cinema except those made in their own countries. Recent mainland Chinese films like "Peacock" and "Not one less" have established their world class credentials.P.S. I was more than amused to find Ford and Coca-Cola financed the film in part, which is probably why the school kids in a remote Chinese village know about Coke and relish rationed drops of the liquid. Who was pulling whose leg here???

A true story, or not? It doesn't matter. This is such a brilliant movie on so many levels its hard to recount them all.This is a great movie for just about anybody. It gets better if you like a story that features an un-compromising, absolutely determined female child in the lead role. But its even better if you happen to have had a teacher in your life you endeared, or are a teacher and have had a favorite pupil. It gets better if you're a father looking for a strong role model for your daughter. Its better still if you have Chinese ancestry in your family. It gets better if you have an interest in learning more about the daily conditions of modern-day rural and urban China, delivered via a master cinematographer. It gets better if you think education occurs best when children take an active role in lessons situated in a context meaningful to them (see the math lessons in the movie). And finally, if you are many of these, there's a message at the top of the credit roll that will either break your heart or confirm your knowledge of the relentless unfairness of the human condition.On top of all this, the movie is littered with priceless vignettes: the children writing single-character calligraphy on the chalk board; the misbehaving students and the absent teacher; the dedicated teacher who will stand for two days at the security gate asking every passerby if they are the "general manager"; the famished child waif guiltily but aggressively eating someone's leftover dinner from the tabletop of a street-side café; the pervasive role of money on life's most basic pursuits.This movie has the emotion of "To Sir, with Love" and the honesty of Himalaya.Yimou Zhang doesn't just use actresses and actors to portray the parts; he uses the real thing, culling the mayor, students, and teachers from rural villages, the television station manager, the restaurateur from the city, etc. How he manages to capture these people in the natural presentations of their characters is impressive. The performances were so convincing I marveled at their exquisite, authentic qualities. I kept asking myself "how did these actresses and actors nail their parts so well?" When the credits rolled the secret was revealed.