Editing Not One Less (section)

== Production and cast ==
''Not One Less'' was Zhang Yimou's ninth film, but only the second not to star long-time collaborator [[Gong Li]] (the first was his 1997 ''[[Keep Cool (film)|Keep Cool]]'').<ref name="losingamuse">{{cite web | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=Losing a Muse and Moving On | last=Feinstein | first=Howard | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/06/movies/losing-a-muse-and-moving-on.html?pagewanted=all | date=6 February 2000 | access-date=9 September 2009}}</ref> For this film, he cast only amateur actors whose real-life names and occupations resembled those of characters they played in the film—as ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]''{{'}}s Steven Rea described the performances, the actors are just "people playing variations of themselves in front of the camera".<ref name="philly" /> For instance, Tian Zhenda, who played the mayor, was the real-life mayor of a small village,<ref name=Kraicer85>{{Harvnb|Kraicer|2001|p=85}}.</ref> and the primary actors Wei Minzhi and Zhang Huike were selected from among thousands of students in rural schools.<ref name="losingamuse" /><ref name="Wu128">{{Harvnb|Wu|2001|p=128}}.</ref> (The names and occupations of the film's main actors<ref name="NOLcredits" /><ref>{{cite web | url = http://eladies.sina.com.cn/yige/yige_chengyuan.html | title=一个都不能少 剧组成员 ("Not One Less" cast/crew members) | access-date=4 October 2009 | publisher=[[Sina.com]]|language=zh}}</ref> are listed in the table below.) The movie was filmed on location at [[Chicheng County]]'s Shuiquan Primary School, and in the city of [[Zhangjiakou]];<ref name="NOLcredits">''Not One Less'', credits.</ref> both locations are in [[Hebei]] province.

The movie was filmed in a [[Documentary film|documentary]]-like, "[[Neorealism (art)|neorealist]]"<ref name="Kraicer85" /> style involving hidden cameras and natural lighting.<ref name="losingamuse" /><ref name="Kraicer85" /><ref name="womenofchina">{{cite web | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=Women of China, Chasing Their Impossible Dreams  | last=Scott | first=A.O. | date=27 May 2001 | access-date=9 September 2009 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/27/movies/film-women-of-china-chasing-their-impossible-dreams.html?scp=5&sq=}}</ref><ref name="realportrayal">{{Harvnb|Liu|Xu|2007}}.</ref> There are also, however, elements of heavy editing—for example, Shelly Kraicer noted that many scenes have frequent, rapid [[cut (transition)|cuts]], partially as a result of filming with inexperienced actors.<ref name="Kraicer86">{{Harvnb|Kraicer|2001|p=86}}.</ref>

Zhang had to work closely with government censors during production of the film. He related how the censors "kept reminding [me] not to show China as too backward and too poor", and said that on the title cards at the end of the movie he had to write that the number of rural children dropping out of school each year was one million, although he believed the number was actually three times that.<ref name="losingamuse" /> ''Not One Less'' was Zhang's first film to enjoy government support and resources.<ref name="Haoquote1">{{Harvnb|Hao|2004}}. "也是从那部影片开始，张艺谋将自己的创造能力与政府资本和主导媒体的宣传资源结合起来。"</ref>

=== Cast ===
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;"
|-
! Name !! Role !! Real-life occupation
|-
| Wei Minzhi || Teacher Wei || middle school student
|-style="background:#D3D3D3"
| Zhang Huike || class troublemaker, school dropout || primary school student
|-
| Tian Zhenda || Mayor Tian || mayor of a village in [[Yanqing county]]
|-style="background:#D3D3D3"
| Gao Enman || Teacher Gao || village teacher in Yanqing county
|-
| Sun Zhimei || helps Wei search for Zhang Huike in the city || middle school student
|-style="background:#D3D3D3"
| Feng Yuying || TV station receptionist || ticket clerk
|-
| Li Fanfan || TV show host || TV show host
|-style="background:#D3D3D3"
| Zhang Yichang || sports recruiter || sports instructor
|-
| Xu Zhanqing || brickyard owner || mayor of a village in Yanqing county
|-style="background:#D3D3D3"
| Liu Hanzhi || Zhang Huike's sick mother || villager
|-
| Ma Guolin || man in bus station || clerk
|-style="background:#D3D3D3"
| Wu Wanlu || TV station manager || deputy manager of a broadcasting station
|-
| Liu Ru || train station announcer || announcer for a broadcasting station
|-style="background:#D3D3D3"
| Wang Shulan || stationery store clerk || stationery store manager
|-
| Fu Xinmin || TV show director || TV station head of programming
|-style="background:#D3D3D3"
| Bai Mei || restaurant owner || restaurant manager
|-
|}