Wei Minzhi in "Not One Less."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film an: Stars: Wei Minzhi Director: Zhang Yimou Rated: Unrated. In Chinese, with English subtitles Length: 106 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(May 5, 2000) -- While American educators tabulate the number of computers per pupil or debate the merits of metal detectors at entrances, the students in Shuiquan Primary School in rural China struggle to preserve the chalk.

They learn to read and calculate almost exclusively on a blackboard, and the one-room schoolhouse is allotted only one piece of chalk per day.

This is the setting for Not One Less, the remarkable new film from the talented Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou. He details the adventures of a 13-year-old girl named Wei Minzhi, recruited by the village mayor to serve as a substitute teacher.

The regular instructor has been called away by illness in his family. But as he leaves, he admonishes Wei that there are 28 students in the classroom, and he wants that many to still be there when he returns. "Not one less," he says.

Ultimately, we understand his concern, for Not One Less focuses on a growing problem in the expansive rural areas of China: more and more students are dropping out to help with family farms and businesses.

At first, Wei isn't much of a teacher; she's only a few years older than her students, and only slightly more responsible. However, she knows she won't be paid if a student leaves the classroom. So she diligently works to maintain attendance.

One student escapes, though, and heads for the closest big city to take a job to help pay family debts.

Wei decides she must bring him home. First, she and her students must raise the necessary money to finance a bus trip. Before you know it, Wei is conducting ad hoc math classes and organizing class money-making ventures.

Not One Less depicts Wei's growing sense of responsibility, as well as the first blossoming of her surprising ability to organize a class. The second half of the film -- Wei's rescue adventures in the big city -- is drawn out. Still, the saga's warmth, good humor and rousing spirit survive.

Filmmaker Zhang first earned his international reputation with colorful, richly conceived tales of China's past, including Raise the Red Lantern and Ju Dou.

Here, he tells a contemporary story in a straightforward, unadorned fashion. Zhang even cast non-actors for every role -- almost always, they play what they are in real life. The mayor is really a mayor, the students are students, the teacher is a teacher.

This risky idea pays dividends by providing a sense of reality that approaches what's found in a high-quality documentary film. Some of the performances, particularly Minzhi's, are quite remarkable.

And filmgoers get an eye-opening look at the value placed on education in another culture, even in a poor, dusty village where crumbling chalk can be a catastrophe.