Not One Less, 1999
The final of three films we're screening from Chinese director Yimou Zhang.
Director: Yimou Zhang
Origin: China
Language: Mandarin
Running time: 106 min
Master Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou turns his lens on the travails of modern China's peasants. When teacher Gao (Gao Enman) leaves town for a month, 13-year old Wei (Wei Minzhi) is pressed into serving as his substitute at the school. If she keeps her class intact, she will receive a bonus. But when a student leaves for the city, she follows and strives relentlessly to bring him back. (from Netflix.com)
U.S. box office: $589,114
Watch the trailer on IMDB.
Read Yimou Zhang's biography from the New York Times.
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Review of last week's film ("To Live", directed by Yimou Zhang, )
Steven says: Transpiring over 30 years, its amazing it only last two hours! The director makes us feel the heartache and fear that the main characters live with in each passing governmental iteration in China from the 1940s to the early 1970s. But within the regimented lives, humanity still exists, in a practical joke, the defense of a sibling or the wedding of a daughter. They endure "to live", simple and profound.
Good overview of chinese history from the point of view of one family who lived it. Much like how Tolstoy followed the lives of families through Russian history in War and Peace. The politics of how this movie came to be made is likely a good story in itself. It is still banned in China for distribution. How could they have permission to produce such a high-budget film and then fail the censors after it was all made?
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