Before winter break in Mrs. Song’s Chinese II class, my classmates and I watched the classic Chinese movie, “一个都不能少” (Not one less). Watching the movie was an amazing experience, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Chinese culture.
Summary
The movie is about a thirteen year old substitute teacher named Ms.Wei, who was hired to replace the previous teacher because he had to leave for thirty days. She promises Mr. Gao, the teacher that she replaced, that when he is gone, “not one less” student will leave the school. The movie took place in a poor rural Chinese village, where resources were limited and many students had to drop out of school to work. At first, no one believed that Ms. Wei could be a good teacher because she was so young and the students disrespected her because of her age, but as time passed it became evident that she cared about her students and could properly teach them. The biggest troublemaker in the class was a boy named Zhang Huike who would never listen to Ms. Wei’s instructions. However, suddenly Zhang left the school because he needed to work to support his family. Ms. Wei realized that she had to bring Zhang back to fulfil her promise to Mr. Gao. With the help of the other students, Ms. Wei worked hard to earn money, so she could go to the city to retrieve Zhang. Ms. Wei even convinced a news company to let her broadcast about Zhang. After a lot of searching, she finally found Zhang Huike and saw that he was lost, starving, and begging for food. At first, Ms. Wei was only looking for Zhang to fulfill her promise to Mr. Gao, but through the experience she realized how much she cared about him. Eventually, they returned to the school, where the news company paid for more new chalk. After this entire experience, the students became more respectful of Ms. Wei which is shown in the last scene, where they all wrote a word on the board with the new chalk.
Theme
This movie embodies multiple themes, all of which I feel are important. But in my opinion, the most important theme is determination. Throughout this entire movie, Ms. Wei showed a lot of determination to find Zhang Huike. She and her students worked hard at a brick factory, moving bricks back and forth, just to earn enough money for bus tickets. Despite not finding Zhang right away, Ms. Wei continued to search for him. Even though she was hungry, lost, and scared she was still determined to find Zhang.
Reflection
From this movie, I learned the importance of perseverance. If Ms. Wei gave up, she would have never found Zhang and broken her promise. It was very inspiring for me to see that even in the toughest situations, Ms. Wei persevered to find Zhang. I also learned a lot about Chinese culture through this movie. For example, I learned that in this time period, China sent athletes to special schools for training. As someone who had never watched a Chinese movie before, it was a very enlightening experience. It was also very interesting for me to see the sentence patterns and vocabulary I learned in class throughout the movie. Overall, watching this movie was a great experience because it was both entertaining and educational!
我在看这个电影的时候感觉到魏老师对她的学生很负责。即使条件很酷也要找到他的学生。
I remember watching this movie last year in Chinese class, and it was interesting to read about what another person thought about the movie. I agree that the movie emphasizes the value of determination and motivation to overcome obstacles. I liked how you noted that there was a shift in the main character’s motives for finding the lost boy, as while first she was just doing it out of a sense of duty, she gradually became very determined to find him. One of the scenes that I remember last year was of the classroom, as the lack of traditional schoolbooks and technological resources stands in stark contrast to our own school here in America.
This is a really well-written movie review! I remember watching this movie in ninth grade and it changed my view on life. I completely agree that this movie shows how important it is to stay determined even when times are tough. I can’t imagine someone so young as Ms. Wei take up such a big responsibility and made sure that all the students stayed in school with “not one less.” This movie also highlighted the difficulties of poor rural areas in Chinese and made me be grateful for my life and the education I have. This was one of my favorite movies that I watched in Chinese class.
I remember watching this movie about a month ago. I agree that the main theme was determination. The fact that the Ms. Wei goes to such great lengths to find a troublesome student even though she rarely had enough resources to find him is worth praise. This film was also a great experience for me as well. It made me grateful that I could have a good education and a relatively stable life.
I remember watching this movie in class. I really enjoyed it. I agree that the theme would be determination, as Ms. Wei showed determination throughout the film. Great article!
I remember watching this very movie in my own class as well! I also thought that it was very inspiring for me to see that even in the toughest situations, Ms. Wei persevered to find Zhang. The ending made me cry so much😭!!!! I love this movie.
I really appreciate how you took the time to write such a thoughtful review of the movie. This was one of my favorite movies that we watched in class. The movie had very amazing characters such as Ms. Wei, who never gave up trying to find her student to bring him back to school. Overall, great job Jessica!
I watched this movie in class around a month ago! It was heartwarming and I enjoyed it! I definitely agree with your perspective of the movie. Ms.Wei was only 13 years old, younger than all of us, and she showed more determination than I have ever experienced. It was amazing!!
I remember watching this movie a year ago in Chinese class and it was really moving to me. It showed the true dedication of a teacher’s desire for her students to succeed and she put in so much work to make it happen. I think it is amazing that Ms.Wei was only 13 years old at the time, and was able to help all these younger students as an adult figure. The movie made me feel warm and fuzzy inside because of the message it delivered. I think Ms.Wei was really kind for helping out the poor villagers despite her capability to go somewhere better. It gave a sense of giving back to the community and helping others from the true kindness of your heart.
你好，我觉得你对这部电影总结很到位，也非常的全面。与此同时，你还反映出了这部电影的中心思想，说明你真的看懂它了。非常好的文章！
This takes me back to when we watched this in freshman year. I remember how this movie changed my perspective on how to overcome obstacles as well as other aspects of life. I almost forgot about what the movie about so reading your review was a big help. It’s interesting how the movie is able to demonstrate the importance of determination and the hardships of chinese education through a simple movie. I also like your reaction to a chinese movie and I suggest you should watch more if you liked this one! Thanks for sharing.
Great article! I remember watching this movie I think in class and I kind of really enjoyed it. Determination does seem like the right theme, as Ms. Wei showed determination throughout the film.
这是关于”一个都不能少”的写得很好的电影评论。我记得在课堂上看这部电影很享受。我也喜欢你说这部电影中的决心。
我们在寒假前看这部电影的时候，我对魏姐的毅力感动。你总结“一个都不能少”的非常好！你说在这部电影有很多主题，除了毅力，你还觉得有什么主题呢？
I think you did a great job reviewing this movie because I’ve watched it recently in class. I agree with the theme of determination since Ms. Wei had to go through so much trouble to find Zhang Huike, I definitely agree that this movie is both educational and entertaining. Thank you for making this review.
I remember watching this movie in class in 9th grade. I thought it was a movie with good lessons. Thank you for the article.