This movie review was written by Andrew Cheung from Jericho High School’s Chinese 3 class. Enjoy!
The film is set in a mountainous countryside village with a thirteen-year old girl named Wei Minzhi, who is assigned to be the temporary teacher of a class of children. The original teacher, Mr. Gao, explains that many of his students have dropped out to support their poverty stricken families and promises Wei Minzhi an extra ten yuan if she can promise that there will be “not one less” student in the class. Wei, at the age of thirteen, is extremely young to be a teacher and her teaching skills are shown to be extremely subpar early on in the film. However, throughout the movie, we are shown that her stubbornness and determination know no bounds…
During the first few days, chaos ensues and the students make a ruckus with the main perpetrator being a disruptive student of the name Zhang Huike. The chaos in the classroom grows to be too big of a problem to ignore, so Wei intervenes and scolds Zhang, breaking several pieces of chalk in the process to the distress of the students. One day after forcing the troublemaker Zhang to apologize, Wei finds out that he has left to the city for work to support his family. After the head of the village refuses to pay for a bus ticket for Wei to go retrieve Zhang, Wei resolves to earn money for the ticket on her own, enlisting the help of the students. One student suggests that they earn money by moving bricks, so she gives mathematical problems to the students to apply to real life problems such as how many bricks they must move and how many hours they must work for. Through engaging with the students in class and while moving bricks, Wei begins to improve her relationship with the class. After earning the money, Wei reaches the bus station to buy tickets, but to her dismay, the bus tickets were much more expensive than she thought. This did not stop Wei, as she simply walked most of the way to the city, a task that would require immense stamina and willpower. Wei, originally after the extra ten yuan, became truly determined to ensure the safety and return of Zhang, knowing the dangers of having a child wandering around in the city alone.
In the city, Wei discovers that the environment is extremely unrecognizable in comparison with that of the countryside and finds out that Zhang became lost at the train station. Wei starts her search at the station to no avail, and continues on, not allowing her encounters with impatient city goers to deter her. She eventually uses up all of her remaining money to buy paper and ink to write “missing posters”. The cost ends up being more than a tenth of her pay. Once again, the struggles over money are depicted with countryside people not being able to afford as much as city dwellers. She learns quickly that the posters are “useless”, as there isn’t even an address or phone number and no one would stop by to look. She finally goes to a TV station to request help to find Zhang Huike. Initially, she is turned down for having no permission, but that doesn’t stop her, as she waits and asks every man with glasses if they are the TV station manager. Finally, the manager lets her in and makes a deal with her since she can not afford to simply broadcast the message on TV. She accepts the deal to appear on a talk show and talk about her experiences in rural education.
During the talk show, Wei is shown to be quite unresponsive. When the host asks her why she came all the way to find Zhang, she couldn’t give an answer, as to her, there were no words that could truly explain the moral justification that it was the right thing to do to help find Zhang, who could be suffering in the city, alone and young. Eventually, Zhang and Wei are united and are set to be driven home, along with school supplies and money that viewers donated to the village.
Throughout the story, the theme of how one’s trash may be another’s treasure along with the struggle over money is persistent. It is noteworthy that since the village is extremely poor, they can barely afford the simple necessities that city goers constantly use in their everyday life. A prime example is displayed in the beginning of the movie when Mr. Gao reminds Wei that each piece of chalk is precious to this village, as this is the extent of which the village can afford for school supplies. Also, we discover that multiple items are shown to be disproportionately expensive such as the coke, paper, ink and the bus ticket, being at least a third or fourth of Wei’s pay. Wei couldn’t even afford one bus ticket for herself, and on arrival, had used up all of her money in futile attempts to find Zhang. Another example is shown when Wei falls asleep and her posters that costed her a fortune and a large amount of time to write are swept away as if they were trash, leaving Wei with nothing. Wei can not afford even water or food, so she must resort to drinking dirty water and eating leftover food from restaurants. It becomes evident that after all of the suffering she has went through walking all the way to the city and using up all of the yuan in her bag to find Zhang, that Wei, from the bottom of her heart, truly loves all of her students and went to find Zhang because it is simply the morally correct thing to do, not for the extra ten yuan.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie, as it touched my heart at Wei’s determination and at times was lighthearted. The actors, villagers who lived in an actual countryside village, did well to put on an emotional and realistic performance of life in rural China. The director of this film, Zhang, portrays an important theme and lesson about the struggles of people living in rural China, while touching at the general theme of determination and great willpower.
What a great article Andrew! I like how you included so many aspects of the movie. I also liked how you put in your own views on the story. Also, I liked how you gave some background knowledge on this story for people who may not have seen the movie. I also enjoyed your visual representation of the movie, it gives a great feature to people who may not know what the characters look like. Overall great article.
Wow, Andrew! What an accurate description of the scenery and beginning of the story. I really liked how you added some images to give us a really good visual image in our head about the movie! I really admire the bravery of the teacher to go all the way to the city to save her student! Thanks Andrew for this nice article, keep up the good work.
Good movie review Andrew! I really like how you talked about all the important points in the movie. It is really interesting to see another person’s ideas on the same movie. I agree with all of the points that you made in this article. Thank you again! I hope to see more from you Andrew!
Wow this was such a detailed review! The summary was phenomenal you covered all the aspects and included all of the most important points.This would be a great review for people who are considering watching the movie. I also liked the fact that you left some of your own opinions in the review. Keep up the good work.
Nice movie review Andrew! I like how you discussed the vital parts of the movie. Its interesting to compare and contrast opinions. This movie was very enjoyable. Good Job
Great article Andrew! I really loved your summary of the movie and how you included details about the adversaries she faced while trying to find ZhangHuiKe. I think your take on the movie’s theme was interesting and the examples you gave really furthered your claim. Your personal opinions on the movie were heartfelt and I liked how you discussed the fact that the actors were all local villagers in China’s rural areas. Your analysis of the events of the movie conveyed your ultimate message that persistent is key to success and that determination can help anyone achieve their goal.
Great job! What a great description of the scene and the beginning of the story. I enjoyed how you added some pictures to give us a real visual view of our film! I really dislike the teacher going to the city! Thanks, Andrew for this nice article, keep up the good work.
Amazing review, Andrew! This article was written so beautifully and it really captured all of the ideas expressed throughout the movie. I really enjoyed watching this movie, for it contained many important themes of determination and perseverance. I liked how this article also included the theme that one man’s trash can be another man’s treasure, as it is a prominent message throughout the storyline. Watching the movie, I found it very sad how the village is in such an impoverished state that they can’t afford simple items such as blackboard chalk and soda. Overall I really enjoyed watching the movie, and I feel this reflection was spot on with the film. Great job!
Good Article Andrew! I enjoyed your article. This movie was enjoyable. I agree with many of the points you made. Keep up the great work.
This was a very well written article, Andrew! I really like how the review was organized chronologically, yet still analyzed some of the important themes throughout the film. The introduction paragraph establishes the setting and themes, and the conclusion wraps all the information up simply and powerfully. I like the transition “In the city, Wei discovers that the environment is extremely unrecognizable in comparison with that of the countryside and finds out that Zhang became lost at the train station,” because it encapsulates the differences in settings noticeably. I also agree with you that Wei wanted to find Zhang, not for the extra ten yuan, but because she truly loves her students. Thanks for sharing!
This is a fantastic article, Andrew! You included information such as the setting and background. I loved how you included photos to provide a visual for people who haven’t seen the movie. You included relevant information. One being the substitutes drive to find Zhanghuike when she made missing posters.
This a great article written by Andrew. I really liked how you included the most important aspects and ideas of the movie. I enjoyed how you included the themes and morals such as “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” because Wei 老师 made hundreds of papers that were sweeped and thrown away in one night. This movie really opened my eyes to how some places can be like in China, such as the cheap labor and the insanely expensive products. I liked how this movie portrayed that education is important and should be prioritized over work as a child. The most important theme is to never give up because Wei 老师 slept on the street for three days straight and wouldn’t go back without her student.
That was an amazing movie review, Andrew! This article explained the setting of the movie which contributed a lot to the movie. Since it took place in a rural village in China, it showed how many people were in poverty and couldn’t afford to go to school. You thoroughly explained the journey that Wei Laoshi took to find one of her students who went to the city. I also liked how you included the theme of the movie which was how one’s trash may be another’s treasure which you also gave examples to. Lastly, I liked how you gave your own opinion about the movie which I completely agree with because it was a lighthearted movie which I learned a lot from. Good job with this review!
Incredible article. Your article has so such a great message. I like how you compared the two different areas. I agree on how you feel about her. She is directed and never gave up.
This article tells a lot of descriptive things about the movie we watched in Chinese class. In addition to talking briefly about what the movie is about, this response has a very strong opinion about the movie and the overall message that the movie conveys. This movie really teaches how one persons goal can become much more such as when she wanted the boy back and wanted to broadcast on TV the reporting channel donated money to their village which they desperately needed to restore the villages 50 year old school and new school supplies. This movie shows the reality of a poor community. Very good article Andrew good job.
Wow, Andrew! You wrote a lot of specific details on the story and I liked how you used emphasis on the scenes. Your summary was very clear and concise which makes it easier to understand. I like how you analyzed certain scenes but I think it would have been better if you added your own opinion to the story. I hope you write more in the future!
Great job on this article, as you left no details out, which gave me a better understanding of the movie. One thing that I liked about your movie review is that you included pictures from the actual movie, so that even people that didn’t watch the movie can understand what you are writing about better. I liked how you described in-depth about the different characters and each of their personalities. The themes that you thought of for this movie was very well thought out, and I liked how you added many different examples in the movie that showed them. I really liked the last paragraph of the article, as you explained why you liked the movie. I also enjoyed how you structured the article, by separating it into different paragraphs. It was a very well-written piece of writing, and all the thoughts linked well together. I gained a lot of knowledge about this movie by reading this review.
I really enjoyed writing this review on the movie Not One Less! There was so many meaningful moments that I couldn’t cover from the movie. In the beginning of the film, I didn’t understand the character of Wei Minzhi and disliked her for being a “subpar” teacher who was only out for money. Throughout the film I was able to see more of Wei Minzhi’s true nature of being a dedicated teacher. For example, the fact that Wei went through the perilous journey to and through the busy urban streets of China. I thought that the villagers did better than expected and portraying an emotional depiction on the terrible and unfortunate situation of children who lived in rural China and one dedicated teacher who refused to give up on the students who she truly loved from the bottom of her thought.
This review was really good! I had to write one myself but I wasn’t able to write this good! This movie review was in-depth and brought the review to the next level. I really liked reading this and was a pleasure to see. Great job!
Good job Andrew!!! This is a really nice and good review!!! Your summary talked about all the important points in the movie. It is really interesting to see another person’s ideas on the same movie. I agreed with many of the points you made. Thank you! Keep up the good work.
This was such an interesting movie review for the film, “Not One Less”. The movie review provided important scenes with details that were crucial to the film and character growth shown throughout the film. The little snippets of pictures throughout really brought the movie review to life because we are able to envision what the characters look like and really get a picture how the scenes played out. Andrew Cheung also did an amazing job organizing the movie review in chronological order which gives the audience who haven’t watched the film a more accurate depiction of the movie. I hope you do continue to publish more articles on The Daily China.
Amazing article! I would highly recommend this movie. It is a high quality movie with multiple educational moments. One thing that I have learned from this movie is that the people in the movie get paid a poor amount. I also learned that items are very over priced, such as Coca Cola bottle, which is extremely expensive in comparison to the income. It was a great idea to add these pictures. The picture of Ms. Wei is helpful for those who haven’t seen this movie and the picture of Ms. Wei on the television station is great because it is such an iconic moment in the movie. Great article, thanks for sharing!
This article was amazing! I really liked how your summary was very descriptive. I liked how you incorporated the themes of the story in the review. I enjoyed the movie when I watched it in class. However, I did forget some of the important parts of the movie. This review made me feel as if I was watching the movie again in my head. Thanks for the article!
Remarkable review, Andrew! Your theme is very well-explained, and it made perfect sense. This article really emphasizes the issue of money that was shown in the film. As you said, the movie was touching at times and lighthearted at others. This movie was very enjoyable to watch. I think it taught the class a lot and opened our eyes to how China was like not so long ago. Thanks for sharing!
Great article Andrew. I really like the fact that pictures were also included. Your summary of the movie was also extremely detailed. I also like the fact that you added some of the answers to the questions we were given in class to create an even more detailed report of the movie. I completely agree with your opinion on the theme of this movie “.. one’s trash may be another’s treasure.”
Great job Andrew! Props to you for including six whole paragraphs with at least five sentences each. Before I read this article, I had never knew the specifics about the movie “Not One Less” as well as other facts. But I did know the general facts beforehand. I had also forgotten that the “actors” were real villagers. Also, all the content you included in your article was related to the story. Keep up the good work!
this was an amazing movie review, Andrew! i love how you not only included the main idea of the movie, but also managed to add details from the movie that actually played a major role. i also liked how you added your opinion of the movie at the end so people know whether or not they should watch the movie. the way you included the emotions of the characters in the review is also why i loved reading this so much. good job!
This was a really good review Andrew! I loved how your summary was really detailed so it gave us more information. I forgot some parts from the movie, so this really helped me remember what it was. It was also nice seeing another person’s thoughts on the movie. I liked how the teacher never gave up on finding her student. Great work on this!
Good Job Andrew! Your article is very thorough with no details left out. I really liked this movie and your summary told everything about this great movie. The movie showed how many people were in poverty and couldn’t afford to go to school. You thoroughly explained the journey that Wei Laoshi took to find one of her students who went to the city. It was a very heartwarming end and you expressed your opinion of the movie very clearly. Again good work Andrew!