English Review: Even though the movie “Not One Less” was produced almost two decades ago, it still is an extremely moving movie. It is a true story that is acted out by ordinary villagers to educate the viewers about the reality of life in the rural villages in the countryside of China.
The story revolves around a young 13-year-old girl named 魏敏芝 (Wei MinZhi) who becomes the substitute teacher for a tiny school with the promise of money if her job is completed. The previous teacher will also reward her with 10 extra dollars if all of the students are there when he gets back. She is to teach and look after the kids for one month with exactly 26 pieces of chalk. No more, no less. Unfortunately for her, the kids disobey her because she is just a child, just like they are. She is only a little bit taller than the children, and she also isn’t very educated. She is a very bossy and stubborn teacher. They refuse to listen to her and like to cause chaos within the cramped classroom just to piss her off.
One day, people from the city come to look for athletic talent. They discover Ming Xinhong, a young girl who is a fast runner. With Ming Xinhong’s permission, they prepare to take her to the city to be trained to become a professional athlete. 魏敏芝 attempts to prevent them from taking Ming Xinhong away because that would mean that she would not get her money once the previous teacher returned. However, her efforts to hide Ming Xinhong ultimately ends in vain because Xinhong is taken to the city in the end. From this event, we can see that 魏敏芝 really cares about getting the money at the end of her job.
A few days later 魏敏芝 discovers that 张慧科(Zhang Huike) has left the village to go to the city to work to support his sick mother. Once again, afraid that she wouldn’t get her money, she sets off to go find him and bring him back. 魏敏芝 and the students brainstorm multiple different ways they can earn the money for the bus trip since the ticket was so expensive. The money they managed to acquire through days of hard work turned out to not be enough since the ticket was more expensive than they had imagined. 魏敏芝 ends up walking all the way to the city.
魏敏芝 runs into many hardships along the way of looking for 张慧科. She sleeps on the street, spent all of her money on paper and ink to make missing person posters just to find out that they are useless, and also is refused entry to see the station manager by a hostile lady since she has no way of proving her identity.
The story ends with 张慧科’s story being broadcasted throughout the city and earning support from other citizens. She manages to find 张慧科 and returns to the village with money and supplies that the citizens of the city had donated.
Many people might ask, “Why doesn’t 魏敏芝 just give up?” Well, there might be many different reasons. One might be that it’s in her nature to not give up. It’s because of her stubbornness that she doesn’t give up. Another might be that she grew attached to 张慧科 and wants to bring him back no matter what. The city is dangerous for a young, uneducated boy.
This movie is a really good movie because it shows the growth in human nature. Even though 魏敏芝’s intentions weren’t the best when she left the village, she returned a better, more caring person.
Chinese Review:
导演张艺谋的电影“一个都不能少”是一部很好看的电影。
因为魏敏芝只比他们大几岁，也没有比他们高多少，
再找张慧科的路上魏敏芝遇到了很多的困扰。她又没地方睡，
魏敏芝到了广播电台的时候因为没有身份证见不到台长。
因为这个节目魏敏芝成功的找到了张慧科还给城市里的人们长了一些
这部电影显示了魏敏芝的成长。
Wow Joey! This is such a well thought out and well written article by you on the movie Not One Less. I really liked the movie and really like your summary. I think I agree with you on the reason why didn’t she give up. It was very sweet of her to go all the way to the city to find her student. I’m glad that the teacher gains respect at the end after bringing the little boy back. I wish more people could be like this to make the world a better place. Thank you Joey for writing this amazing article!
I like how you gave both a chinese review and an english review. Both reviews were very detailed and thorough. You added great details in your summary but also kept is short and concise. However i think it would be better if you added more of your own opinions in the review. Overall great review. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Thank you for this amazing article! I loved watching this movie in class. The summary is superb. It was amazing how she was so determined to find her student. I was so suprised when she actually found her. It made me so happy when all the students were happy when the student came back.
Wow, this is a very informative article. It includes very relevant information such as the background of the substitute teacher. You made a valid argument. I totally agree on why she did not give up. I am very content that everyone was happy that the teacher brought Zhanghuike back. People in this world should learn the lesson.
Great Job! This is such a well written article. I really liked the movie and your summary. I disagree with you on the reason why didn’t she give up. I thoight it was dumb that she would go to the city and not teach the ones willing to stay. I think it was an act of luck that it worked out the way it did. It was a good article keep up the good work.
Good movie review Joey! I really like how you talked about all the important points in the movie. I really like how you wrote a review in Chinese too!. I agree with all of the points that you made in this article. Thank you again! I hope to see more from you Joey!
What a great article Joey. The summary is superb. I like how you gave both a Chinese review and an English review. I think I agree with you on the reason why didn’t she give up. It was very responsible of her to go all the way to the city to find her student. I really enjoyed reading the Chinese review also. Thanks for a great article!
Great article!!! I really enjoyed the movie. I really liked the summary of the movie too. I also really liked your explanation and reason as to why she didn´t give up when finding Zhang Hui Ke. I agree with your reason too. Thank you for sharing!!!
Great article Joey! Both your English and Chinese reviews really reflected the plot and overall theme/moral of “Not One Less”. I liked how you included at the end of your Chinese review that although Ms.Wei was first motivated by money, she was determined to find ZhangHuiKe because she did truly care for him. Moreover, I loved how you described Ms.Wei’s hardships that she faced: how she waited days without food, money, or shelter in order to find her missing student. Your personal analysis made it clear that through the adversities she faced, Ms.Wei was ultimately changed by this harrowing experience.
Great article! I enjoyed the movie. I liked how you gave a detailed summary. I agree with your points. Keep up the great work!
Great review, Joey! I really respect how you not only wrote your article in English but in Chinese too! Your summary of the film was very detailed and accurate. Both of your articles were written so beautifully, truly capturing all of the ideas expressed throughout the movie. I personally enjoyed watching this movie, for it contained many important themes and ideas about human nature. I like how you attempted to answer the controversial question of: Why didn’t Ms. Wei give up? I think it was just her human nature, but all the other options really got me thinking. Great read!
Great article! The fact that you wrote both an English and a Chinese review is outstanding, and shows you really went above and beyond. I love how you mentioned how Wei tried to hide Ming Xinhong from the athletic recruit team. This portrays how Wei really cares about her students, and that it’s not just for the money. The “growth in human nature” theme was also emphasized in the article, which I feel like was underrepresented in some other reviews. Thanks for sharing!
Wow great article. I have seen this movie and I highly recommend it due to its educational factors and also being a very enjoyable and interesting movie. This synopsis definitely encompasses all of the amazing things this movie offers. I learned a lot from this movie such as more about the Chinese culture It was so interesting to see the culture of Northern China. I really like your explanation and I agree with your reasoning too. Thanks!
Good Job Joey! Your article is very thorough with no details left out. I really liked this movie and your summary told everything about this great movie. I agree that she grew attached to Zhang Huike and thats why she didn’t give up. It was very sweet of her to go all the way to the city to find her student. I’m glad that the teacher got the respect of everyone after bringing him back. More people should be like this. Thanks for this amazing article.
This is a great article! I liked the movie and your summary of the story. I really liked the moral you explained in your summary. It was very clear and concise. Also, I like how you summarized the whole story. It allowed me to visualize the movie again. Thanks!
This is such a great movie review Joey, I’m so glad that your movie review was so good that it was chosen to be published on The Daily China. I really appreciate how your wrote two reviews, one in English and one in Chinese. The movie review had the major plot points, obstacles. and analysis of the movie which I found especially intriguing. I like how you included the character development that was shown in the teacher as the movie went on which showed a theme of growth in human nature.
Awesome article Joey. Amazing that you did it in chinese too. When you talked about why she doesn’t just give up I totally agree. Your summary is so descriptive. I feel like I am watching the movie again.
Wow this i amazing because I love the movie and your summary about her not giving up was good since she didn’t and I love that you quote about how stopped at nothing to get the kid back good job
This is truly a great movie review, as it covered all the major points of the movie as well as revealed the overall messages/themes. I really like how you wrote two different reviews both in English and Chinese, as it shows that you went above the minimum requirement for the assignment. Even though I watched the movie in class, reading this review helped me to understand it better from a different perspective. I agree with your ideas that the replacement teacher never gave up because she knew that the boy was young, as well as her personality. Overall, this was a very well thought out movie review, and I truly enjoyed reading it. I hope you continue to write more of these articles. Great job!
This was a great article Joey. I liked how you included that Wei 老师 was underqualified and just a child like the students. I also liked how you included how you included that is first Wei 老师 only cared about the money. Then, at the end she cared for the students and their education. It was interesting to see how she grew and matured throughout the movie. Also, the hard work payed off because the school got a donation to fix the school in the end. It was a great idea to include Chinese and English.
This movie review was very informative! I liked how you included both a Chinese and English review. I also liked how you included a detailed review in chronological order so it was easy to follow and understand. You clearly explained how the teacher, Wei Laoshi, went through so much hardship to find one of her students who ran away to find a job. I agree that the movie shows the growth in human nature, and I agree with the many other themes you mentioned in your article. Your Chinese review was very sophisticated and you have great vocabulary. Good job with your review!
Great movie review! This is a very nice and well written movie review . I really enjoyed the movie and your summary was very interesting. I think I agree with you on the reason why didn’t she give up. It was very caring of her to go all the way to the city to find her student.
This article talks about the movie in much detail and I got a new interpretation and perspective on the movie I watched in Chinese. It’s very helpful that the article is in both Chinese and English for people that can speak only Chinese or only English. Reading the article was like me re watching the entire movie all over again due to the detail of this article. I totally agree about the plot of the story and the overall message. It is pretty impressive that this movie was filmed 20 years ago. This is a very good article overall.
Great movie review! I really liked reading this! This article was able to understand the main theme of the movie. I really thought that this was very good and well written. Great job!
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie review on the movie Not One Less. The summary was very well written and concise while covering the main themes of the movie. I found it extremely interesting to have the review in both English and Chinese, as it truly shows your effort and dedication in writing this review. The movie Not One Less depicted the tough life of people living in rural China. In the beginning of the movie, I had a great dislike for the substitute teacher, Wei Minzhi, as she appeared to be a teacher that was unqualified to teach and uncaring towards her students. I later saw that I was wrong about her character, as she walked through the busy urban streets of China to search for the lost student, Zhang Huike, risking being kidnapped and many other dangers to find Zhang. Ultimately, I agree with your statement that this movie was a great depiction of the “growth of human nature” , indicated by the development of Wei Minzhi’s character from being an uncaring teacher bent on making money to a loving teacher who wouldn’t let even one student be endangered in the busy city streets of China.
Great review. I felt like this echoed what I thought about the movie. This article really analyzed the movie and showed my why it resonated with me. I really thought that this was a good review. Good job.
Really interesting article Joey! This really gave me much more details than when I was watching the movie and now I can see it in a whole new way. I liked the way you told your summary on the movie. I do agree with your reason on why she didn’t give up. She really had care about her student and even went all the way to the city just to find him back.
Joey, your article is incredible. The summary is so detailed and touched on all the important moments in the movie. It’s amazing that you incorporated a Chinese review as well. This film was extremely educational and informative. I completely agree with the theme of growth in human nature. Thanks for a great article!
this is an amazing review! personally, after watching the movie myself, i think this movie review is very accurate and includes all the important factors of the movie itself. i like how this review expressed Wei LaoShi’s desperation for the money, especially after XinHong left to become an athlete. i like how you described all the factors of why Wei LaoShi tried so hard to find Zhang HuiKe. this movie was truly very touching, good work!
Also another good student review! I liked that there was a Chinese translation at the bottom. Although this article didn’t go very into depth of this movie but it still gave a good and solid review of the story. I think the story could have been more interesting if there were images involved. I like how this article had its own opinion in it. I hope to see more student reviews in the future. Keep up the good work!
We watched 一个都不能少 in our Chinese class. You did an excellent job summarizing the plot of the movie! Even though the movie’s acting was a little cringy at times, the movie was an interesting one nonetheless. It brings awareness to the tough life of people living in rural China, where chalk is seen as extremely valuable to classroom students. Although I hated the substitute teacher at the beginning, I’ve come to find out that she does care about her students through her actions at the end, as she goes through lots of risk and effort to find 张慧科. Great article!
Great article Joey! I love how you added a Chinese translation and names in Chinese, it gives us the option to chose either one. Your movie review was also very informative, it shows the events of the movie in chronological order and its very well written. I also agree with some of the ideas you wrote about, i also believe that the substitute teacher grew attached to 张慧科, and that her motive for travelling to the city definitely changed. I loved reading your review about the movie, and I hope you continue to write articles for The Daily China!