Editing Not One Less (section)

== Themes ==
While most of Zhang's early films had been [[historical epic]]s, ''Not One Less'' was one of the first to focus on contemporary China.<ref name="Cardullo114" /><ref name="Lu414">{{Harvnb|Lu|2002|p=414}}.</ref> The film's main theme involves the difficulties faced in providing rural education in China. When Wei Minzhi arrives in Shuiquan village, the teacher Gao has not been paid in six months and the school building is in disrepair,<ref name="Zhang133">{{Harvnb|Zhang|2001|p=133}}.</ref> and chalk is in such short supply that Gao gives Wei specific instructions limiting how large her written characters should be.<ref name="Kemp" /> Wei sleeps in the school building, sharing a bed with several female students. The version of the film released overseas ends with a series of title cards in English, the last of which reads, "Each year, poverty forces one million children in China to leave school. Through the help of donations, about 15% of these children return to school."

[[File:Abbas-kiarostami-venice.jpg|thumb|''Not One Less'' has thematic and stylistic similarities to the work of Iranian director [[Abbas Kiarostami]].|alt=Black-and-white head portrait of an older man with short hair and sunglasses]]
Because the people and locations used in the film are real but are carefully selected and edited, the film creates a "friction"<ref name="Kraicer86" /> between documentary reality and narrative fiction.  This balancing act between the real and the imaginary has drawn comparisons to neorealist works such as those of [[Iran|Iranian]] directors [[Abbas Kiarostami]] and [[Mohsen Makhmalbaf]],<ref name="womenofchina" /><ref name="Kraicer85-6">{{Harvnb|Kraicer|2001|pp=85–6}}.</ref><ref name="singapore" /> and Zhang has openly acknowledged the influence of Kiarostami in this film.<ref name="independent">{{cite web | last=Adair | first=Gilbert | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/kids-these-days-really-know-how-to-act-697388.html | title=Kids these days really known how to act | work=[[The Independent]] | date=26 June 2000 | access-date=19 October 2009 }}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Zhang Xiaoling of the [[University of Nottingham]] argues that Zhang Yimou used the documentary perspective in order to suggest that the story is an accurate reflection of most rural areas in China,<ref name="Zhang138">{{Harvnb|Zhang|2001|p=138}}.</ref> while Shelly Kraicer believes that his "simultaneous presentation of seemingly opposing messages" is a powerful artistic method in of itself, and that it allows Zhang to circumvent censors by guaranteeing that the movie will include at least one message that they like.<ref name="Kraicer86" /> [[Jean-Michel Frodon]] of ''[[Le Monde]]'' maintains that the film was produced "in the shadow of two superpowers"  and needed to make compromises with each.<ref name="lemondequote1">{{cite news | work=[[Le Monde]]| last=Frodon | first=Jean-Michel |author-link=Jean-Michel Frodon | date=3 November 1999 | title=Un Lion d'or à l'ombre des grandes puissances; Pas un de moins. Zhang Yimou se soumet à des compromis sans abdiquer entièrement son talent ("A Golden Lion in the shadow of great powers; ''Not One Less''. Zhang Yimou submits to compromises without entirely abdicating his talent") | quote=... ce nouveau film a été réalisé dans l'ombre portée de deux superpuissances|language=fr}}</ref>

The film addresses the prominent place that bureaucracy, and verbal negotiation and struggle, occupy in everyday life in China. Many scenes pit Wei against authority figures such as the village mayor, the announcer in the train station, and the TV station receptionist who also acts as a "gatekeeper".<ref name="Kraicer87">{{Harvnb|Kraicer|2001|p=87}}.</ref><ref name="KwokMcKnight103">{{Harvnb|Kwok|McKnight|2002|p=103}}.</ref> Aside from Wei, many characters in the film show a "blind faith" in authority figures.<ref name="Zhang137" /> While she lacks money and power, Wei overcomes her obstacles through sheer obstinacy and ignorant persistence,<ref name="Zhang136">{{Harvnb|Zhang|2001|p=136}}.</ref><ref name="tothetest" /><ref name="filmjournal" /> suggesting that speech and perseverance can overcome barriers.<ref name="Kraicer87" /> Wei becomes an example of "heroic obstinacy"<ref name="Cardullo114">{{Harvnb|Cardullo|2004|p=114}}.</ref> and a model of using determination to face "overwhelming odds".<ref name="Lu414" /> For this reason, the film has been frequently compared to Zhang's 1993 ''[[The Story of Qiu Ju]]'', whose heroine is also a determined, stubborn woman; likewise, ''Qiu Ju'' is also filmed in a neo-realistic style, set partially in contemporary rural China and partially in the city,<ref name="lemonde">{{cite news | work=[[Le Monde]]| last=Frodon | first=Jean-Michel |author-link=Jean-Michel Frodon | date=3 November 1999 | title=Un Lion d'or à l'ombre des grandes puissances; Pas un de moins. Zhang Yimou se soumet à des compromis sans abdiquer entièrement son talent ("A Golden Lion in the shadow of great powers; ''Not One Less''. Zhang Yimou submits to compromises without entirely abdicating his talent") |language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Lu2005-122">{{Harvnb|Lu|2005|p=122}}.</ref> and employs mostly amateur actors.<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web | url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19930528/REVIEWS/305280303/1023 | title=The Story of Qiu Ju | last=Ebert | first=Roger | author-link=Roger Ebert | date=28 May 1993 | access-date=17 September 2009 | work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | archive-date=28 September 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928222648/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19930528/REVIEWS/305280303/1023 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Not One Less''  portrays the mass media as a locus of power: Wei discovers that only someone with money or connections can gain access to a television station, but once someone is on camera she or he becomes part of an "invisible [[media hegemony]]" with the power to "manipulate social behavior", catching people's attention where paper advertisements could not and moving cityfolk to donate money to a country school.<ref name="Cui124-5">{{Harvnb|Cui|2003|pp=124–5}}.</ref> The power of television within the film's story, according to Laikwan Pang of the [[Chinese University of Hong Kong]], reflects its prominent place in Chinese society of the late 1990s, when domestic cinema was floundering but television was developing quickly; Pang argues that television-watching forms a "collective consciousness" for Chinese citizens, and that the way television unifies people in ''Not One Less'' is an illustration of this.<ref name="Pang119-120">{{Harvnb|Pang|2004|pp=119–20}}.</ref>

[[File:Zhangjiakou full view.jpg|left|thumb|[[Zhangjiakou]], where the "urban" half of the film takes place|alt=Aerial view of a city, surrounded mostly by desert. In the foreground and background are hills with sparse vegetation.]]
Money is important throughout the film.<ref name="philly">{{cite news | title=In a Chinese village, the teacher is 13 | last=Rea | first=Steven | work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] | date=24 March 2000}}</ref> Concerns about money dominate much of the film—for example, a large portion is devoted to Wei and her students' attempt to earn enough money for bus tickets<ref name="Cui123-4">{{Harvnb|Cui|2003|pp=123–4}}.</ref>—as well as motivating them. Most major characters, including Wei, demand payment for their actions,<ref name="Cardullo115">{{Harvnb|Cardullo|2004|p=115}}.</ref> and it is left unclear whether Wei's search for Zhang Huike is motivated by altruism or by the promise of a 10-yuan bonus.<ref name="Zhu215" /><ref name="winningwei" /> Zhu Ying points out the prominence of money in the film creates a conflict between traditional [[Confucianism|Confucian]] values (such as the implication that the solutions to Wei's problems can be found through the help of authority figures) and modern, [[Capitalism|capitalist]] and [[Individualism|individualistic]] society.<ref name="Zhu215">{{Harvnb|Zhu|2003|p=215}}.</ref>

Finally, the film illustrates the growing urban–rural divide in China. When Wei reaches Zhangjiakou, the film creates a clear contrast between urban and rural life,<ref name="KwokMcKnight103" /><ref name="filmjournal" /> and the two locations are physically separated by a dark tunnel.<ref name="Zhang134" /> The city is not portrayed as idyllic; rather, Zhang shows that rural people are faced with difficulties and discrimination in the cities. While Wei's first view of the city exposes her to well-dressed people and modern buildings, the living quarters she goes to while searching for Zhang Huike are cramped and squalid.<ref name="Zhang134" /> Likewise, the iron gate where Wei waits all day for the TV station director reflects the barriers poor people face to survival in the city, and the necessity of [[guanxi|connections]] to avoid becoming an "outsider" in the city.<ref name="Zhang136" /> Frequent cuts show Wei and Zhang wandering aimlessly in the streets, Zhang begging for food, and Wei sleeping on the sidewalk; when an enthusiastic TV host later asks Zhang what part of the city left the biggest impression, Zhang replies that the one thing he will never forget is having to beg for food.<ref name="Zhang139" /> A.O. Scott of ''[[The New York Times]]'' compared the "unbearable" despair of the film's second half to that of [[Vittorio De Sica]]'s 1948 ''[[Bicycle Thieves]]''.<ref name="tothetest" />