Editing Not One Less (section)

== Reception ==

=== Cannes withdrawal ===
{{Quote box | quote=I cannot accept that when it comes to Chinese films, the West seems for a long time to have had just the one 'political' reading: if it's not "against the government" then it's "for the government". The naïveté and lack of perspective [lit. "one-sidedness"] of using so simple a concept to judge a film is obvious. With respect to the works of directors from America, France and Italy for example, I doubt you have the same point of view. | source=—Zhang Yimou (20 April 1999). ''Beijing Youth Daily''.  | align=right | width=30% | bgcolor=#FFFFE0  | salign=right}}
Neither ''Not One Less'' nor Zhang's other 1999 film ''[[The Road Home (1999 film)|The Road Home]]'' was selected for the 1999 Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection, the most prestigious competition in the festival, where several of Zhang's earlier films had won awards.<ref name="Lu2005-126">{{Harvnb|Lu|2005|p=126}}.</ref><ref name="Da47">{{Harvnb|Da|2000|p=47}}.</ref> The rationale is uncertain; Shelly Kraicer and Zhang Xiaoling claim that Cannes officials viewed the ''Not One Less''{{'}} happy ending, with the main characters' conflicts resolved by the generosity of city dwellers and higher-up officials, as pro-China propaganda,<ref name="Kraicer84">{{Harvnb|Kraicer|2001|p=84}}.</ref><ref name="Zhang131">{{Harvnb|Zhang|2001|p=131}}.</ref> while Zhu Ying claims that the officials saw it and ''The Road Home'' as too ''anti''-government.<ref name="Zhu122">{{Harvnb|Zhu|2003|p=122}}.</ref> Rather than have his films shown in a less competitive portion of the festival, Zhang withdrew them both in protest, stating that the movies were apolitical.<ref name="Kraicer84" /><ref name="Zhang131" /><ref name="Zhu122" /> In an open letter published in the ''[[Beijing Youth Daily]]'', Zhang accused the festival of being motivated by other than artistic concerns, and criticized the Western perception that all Chinese films must be either "pro-government" or "anti-government", referring to it as a "discrimination against Chinese films".<ref>The original Chinese text of the letter is available at {{cite web | url=http://news.sina.com.cn/living/9904/042004.html | title=张艺谋郑重声明退出戛纳电影节 (Zhang Yimou solemnly declares his withdrawal from Cannes Film Festival) | publisher=[[Sina.com]] | date=20 April 1999 | access-date=10 September 2009}}<br />An English translation is available in {{Harvtxt|Zhu|2003|p=140}}.</ref>

=== Critical response ===
''Not One Less'' has an approval rating of 96% on [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 47 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6/10.<ref>{{cite web|title=Not One Less|url = https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/not_one_less/ |website = [[Rotten Tomatoes]] | access-date =10 September 2009}}</ref>[[Metacritic]] assigned the film a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/notoneless?q=Not%20One%20Less | website=[[Metacritic]] | access-date=10 September 2009 | title=Not One Less }}</ref> 

Many focused on the film's ending title cards: several compared them to a [[public service announcement]],<ref name="losingamuse" /><ref name="publicservice">{{cite news | work=[[The Sunday Times]] | title=Not One Less | date=25 June 2000 | last=Porter | first=Edward}}</ref> and Philip Kemp of ''[[Sight & Sound]]'' wrote, "All that's missing is the address we should send donations to."<ref name="Kemp">{{cite web | work=[[Sight and Sound]] | date=August 2000 | access-date=9 September 2009 | url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/459 | title=Not One Less | last=Kemp | first=Philip | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002015703/http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/459 | archive-date=2 October 2008}}</ref> Zhang Xiaoling, on the other hand, considered the titles to be an implicit criticism of the state of rural education in China, saying, "the news that voluntary contributions have helped 15 percent of the pupils to return to school is aimed to give rise to a question: what about the remaining 85 percent?"<ref name="Zhang139">{{Harvnb|Zhang|2001|p=139}}.</ref> The disagreement about the title cards is also reflected in the critical reaction to the rest of the film's resolution. Kemp described the ending as "feelgood" and criticized the film for portraying officials and generous cityfolk as coming to the rescue,<ref name="Kemp" /> ''[[The Washington Post]]''{{'}}s Desson Howe called the ending "flag-waving",<ref name="WP">{{cite web | work=[[The Washington Post]] | last=Howe | first=Desson | access-date=10 September 2009 | date=17 March 2009 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/entertainment/movies/reviews/notonelesshowe.htm | title=Not One Less}}</ref> and ''[[The Independent]]''{{'}}s [[Gilbert Adair]] called it "sugary".<ref name="independent" /> [[Alberto Barbera]] of the [[Venice Film Festival]], on the other hand, said that while the end of the film may have been like propaganda, the rest was a "strong denunciation of a regime that is unable to assure proper education for the country children".<ref name="losingamuse" /> Likewise, Zhang Xiaoling argued that although the film superficially appears to praise the city people and officials, its [[subtext]] is harshly critical of them: he pointed out that the apparently benevolent TV station manager seems to be motivated more by audience ratings than by altruism, that the receptionist's callous manner towards Wei is a result of Chinese "bureaucratism and nepotism",<ref name="Zhang137">{{Harvnb|Zhang|2001|p=137}}.</ref> and that for all the good things about the city, Zhang Huike's clearest memory of city life is having to beg for food.<ref name="Zhang139" /> Zhang and Kraicer both argued that critics who see the film as pro-government propaganda are missing the point and, as Kraicer put it, "mistaking [one] layer as the message of the film&nbsp;... mistaking the part for the whole".<ref name="Kraicer86" /><ref name="Zhang131" /> David Ansen of ''[[Newsweek]]'' and Leigh Paatsch of the ''[[Herald Sun]]'' each pointed out that, while the film is "deceptive[ly]" positive<ref name="winningwei">{{cite web | last=Ansen | first=David | work=[[Newsweek]] | url=http://www.newsweek.com/2000/03/05/winning-wei.html | title=Winning Wei | date=6 March 2000 | access-date=19 October 2009}}</ref> at face value, it has harsh criticism "bubbling under the surface".<ref name="bubbling">{{cite news | work=[[Herald Sun]] | first=Leigh | last=Paatsch | title=China's new class wars | date=19 February 2000}}</ref> Chinese critics Liu Xinyi and Xu Su of ''Movie Review'' recognized the dispute abroad over whether the film was pro- or anti-government, but made no comment; they praised the film for its realistic portrayal of hardships facing rural people, without speculating about whether Zhang intended to criticize or praise the government's handling of those hardships.<ref name="realportrayal" /> Hao Jian of ''Film Appreciation'', on the other hand, was more critical, claiming that the movie was organized around a political message and was intended to be pro-government. Hao said that ''Not One Less'' marked the beginning of Zhang's transformation from an outspoken independent director to one of the government's favorites.<ref name="Haoquote2">{{Harvnb|Hao|2004}}. "从《一个都不能少》开始，张艺谋开始按照政治上的主导意识来安排自己影片中人物的动机发展和行动的走向与结局。该片剧作的转折点力量（爱民的电视台台长）的编排具有中国语境内的政治保险性。"</ref>

Overall, critics were impressed with the performances of the amateur actors,<ref name="Kemp" /><ref name="independent" /><ref name="filmjournal">{{cite web | work=[[Film Journal International]] | last=Lally | first=Kevin | title=Not One Less | url=http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000697370 | access-date=19 October 2009 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122221540/http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000697370 | archive-date=22 January 2013 | url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Jean-Michel Frodon]] of ''[[Le Monde]]'' called that the film's greatest success.<ref name="lemondequote2">{{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=... la plus belle réussite du film|language=fr}}</ref> Peter Rainer of ''[[New York Magazine]]'' praised the scene of Wei's interview on TV as "one of the most improbably satisfying love scenes on film".<ref name="ny_mag" /> The film also received praise for its artistic merits and [[Hou Yong (cinematographer)|Hou Yong]]'s cinematography,<ref name="ottawa">{{cite news | last=Kennedy | first=Janice | date=16 July 2000 | work=[[The Ottawa Citizen]] | title=Zhang Yimou delivers another gem}}</ref> even though its visuals were simplistic compared to Zhang's previous films;<ref name="singapore">{{cite news | title=Life's little lessons | work=[[Business Times (Singapore)|Business Times]] | date=3 December 1999 | last=Tsang | first=Susan}}</ref><ref name="winningwei" /> for example, A.O. Scott of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised the "richness" displayed by the film despite its deliberate scarcity of color.<ref name="tothetest">{{cite web | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=A Substitute Teacher Is Put to the Test | last=Scott | first=A.O. | date=18 February 2000 | access-date=9 September 2009 | url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E01EEDC1131F93BA25751C0A9669C8B63|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120118204235/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E01EEDC1131F93BA25751C0A9669C8B63 |archive-date=18 January 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Reviewers also pointed out that Zhang had succeeded in breaking away from the "commercial entertainment wave" of popular film.<ref name="Zhu216">{{Harvnb|Zhu|2003|p=216}}.</ref> Noel Vera of ''[[BusinessWorld]]'' writes that the film concerns itself mainly with emotional impact, at the expense of visual extravagance, making it the opposite of earlier Zhang Yimou films such as ''[[Red Sorghum (film)|Red Sorghum]]''.<ref name="business">{{cite news | date=5 November 1999 | last=Vera | first=Noel | title=One of the finest films to come out in the '90s | work=[[BusinessWorld]]}}</ref> Other critics noted the strength of the film's storytelling; for instance, Rainer called the film an "uncommon, and uncommonly moving, love story",<ref name="ny_mag">{{cite magazine|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/reviews/2085/|title=Not One Less|author=Peter Rainer|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]}}</ref> and ''[[Film Journal International]]''{{'}}s Kevin Lally described it as "a poignant story of poverty and spirit reminiscent of the great [[Italian neo-realism|Italian neo-realists]]."<ref name="filmjournal" /> Another well-received part of the film was the segment in which Wei teaches math by creating practical examples out of her attempt to raise money for the bus to Zhangjiakou; in the Chinese journal ''Teacher Doctrines'', Mao Wen wrote that teachers should learn from Wei's example and provide students with practical exercises.<ref name="MaoWen">{{Harvnb|Mao|2003}}.</ref>

Wei Minzhi's character received mixed reactions: Scott described her as a "heroic" character who demonstrates how obstinacy can be a virtue,<ref name="tothetest" /> whereas Richard Corliss of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' says she is "no brighter or more resourceful than [her students]".<ref name="Time">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000524011535/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/shorttakes/0%2C3415%2C1101000228%2C00.html |archive-date=24 May 2000 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/shorttakes/0,3415,1101000228,00.html |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=10 September 2009 |title=Not One Less |url-status=dead }}</ref> Reactions to the city portion of the movie were also mixed: while Zhang describes the second half of the film as an eloquent commentary on China's urban-rural divide<ref name="Zhang134">{{Harvnb|Zhang|2001|p=134}}.</ref> and Kevin Lally calls it "startling",<ref name="filmjournal" /> Kemp criticizes it for being a predictable "Victorian cliché".<ref name="Kemp" />

=== Box office and release ===
{{Anchor|Box office}}
Rights to distribute the film were purchased by the China Film Group Corporation, a state-sponsored organization, and the government actively promoted the film.<ref name="Pang119" /> It was officially released in mainland China in {{Nowrap|April 1999}},<ref name="Pang118" /> although there were showings as early as mid-February.<ref name="Lu2005-129" /> Sheldon H. Lu reports that the film grossed [[Renminbi|¥]]18&nbsp;million, an average amount, in its first three months of showing; by the end of its run in November, it sold ¥40&nbsp;million at the box office.<ref name="Lu2005-129">{{Harvnb|Lu|2005|p=129}}.</ref> (In comparison, Zhang's 2002 film ''[[Hero (2002 film)|Hero]]'' would earn ¥270&nbsp;million three years later.)<ref name="Lu2005-132">{{Harvnb|Lu|2005|p=132}}.</ref> Nevertheless, ''Not One Less'' was the highest-grossing domestic film of 1999, and Laikwan Pang has called it a "box office success".<ref name="Pang118">{{Harvnb|Pang|2004|p=118}}.</ref> In the United States, the film was released in theaters on {{Nowrap|18 February}} 2000, and grossed $50,256 in its first weekend and $592,586 overall;<ref name="boxofficemojo">{{cite web | work=[[Box Office Mojo]] | url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=notoneless.htm | access-date=16 September 2009 | title=Not One Less}}</ref> The release was handled by [[Sony Pictures Classics]],<ref name="tothetest" /> and home video distribution by [[Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group|Columbia TriStar]];<ref name="Kraicer87" /><ref name="lemonde" /> ''Not One Less'' was Columbia's first Chinese film.<ref name="Redeeming">{{cite news | title=Redeeming features | work=[[South China Morning Post]] | date=22 January 2006 | last=Liu | first=Joey}}</ref>

Lu warns that domestic box office sales are not reliable indicators of a film's popularity in mainland China, because of piracy and because of state or social group sponsorship;<ref>{{Harvnb|Lu|2005|pp=126–7, 129–31}}.</ref> many workers were given free tickets to promote the film, and a 1999 report claimed that more tickets were purchased by the government than by individuals.<ref name="Pang119">{{Harvnb|Pang|2004|p=119}}.</ref> The film was more popular than most government-promoted films touting the party line and Lu claims that it had "tremendous social support",<ref>{{Harvnb|Lu|2005|p=31}}.</ref> but Pang points out that its success was "not purely egalitarian, but partly constructed."<ref name="Pang120">{{Harvnb|Pang|2004|p=120}}.</ref>

At the time of ''Not One Less''{{'}} release, DVD and VCD piracy was a growing concern in mainland China, and the [[Intellectual property in the People's Republic of China|China Copyright Office]] issued a notice forbidding unauthorized production or distribution of the film. This was the first time China had enacted special copyright protections for a domestic film.<ref name="eladies_sina">{{cite web | url=http://eladies.sina.com.cn/yige/ | access-date=5 October 2009 | title=一个都不能少 新闻摘要 (''Not One Less'' news summary) | publisher=[[Sina.com]]|language=zh}}</ref><ref name="realportrayalquote1">{{Harvnb|Liu|Xu|2007}}. "这是我国第一次对国产影片的版权实行如此正式的保护。"</ref> On {{Nowrap|21 April}} 1999, [[Hubei]] province's [[Culture Office]] issued an "Urgent Notice for Immediate Confiscation of Pirated ''Not One Less'' VCDs", and two days later the Culture Office and movie company joined forces to conduct raids on ten audio-video stores, seizing pirated discs from six of them.<ref name="eladies_sina" />

=== Awards ===
Although it was withdrawn from Cannes, ''Not One Less'' went on to win the [[Golden Lion]], the top award at the [[Venice Film Festival]].<ref name="Kraicer84" /> Zhang also received a best director award at the [[Golden Rooster Award|Golden Rooster]], mainland China's most prestigious award ceremony,<ref name="GoldenRooster" /> and the film was voted one of the top three of the year in the [[Hundred Flowers Awards]].<ref name="HundredFlowers" /> Awards the film won or was nominated for are listed below.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|-
! Awards
! width="5%"|Year
! Category
! Result
! Notes
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="center"|[[Venice Film Festival]]<ref name="imdbawards">{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209189/awards | website=[[IMDb]] | title=Awards for Yi ge dou bu neng shao | access-date=4 October 2009}}</ref>
|rowspan="4" valign="center" align="center"|1999
|[[Golden Lion]]
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|Lanterna Magica award
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|Sergio Trasatti award
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|UNICEF award
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|[[Golden Rooster Awards]]<ref name="GoldenRooster">{{cite web | title=The Golden Rooster Award (1999) | url=http://www.yesasia.com/us/yumcha/golden-rooster-awards/0-0-0-aeid.1002_aey.1999_sb.154-en/film-awards.html | publisher=[[YesAsia]] | access-date=10 September 2009}}</ref><ref name="imdbawards" />
|align="center"|1999
|Best Director
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|[[Hundred Flowers Awards]]<ref name="HundredFlowers">{{cite web | title=Hundred Flowers Awards (1999) | url=http://www.yesasia.com/global/yumcha/hundred-flowers-awards/0-0-0-aeid.1003_aey.1999_sb.154-en/film-awards.html | publisher=[[YesAsia]] | access-date=12 September 2009}}</ref><ref name="imdbawards" />
|align="center"|1999
|Best Picture
|{{Won}}
|with two other films<!--''[[The Matchmaker (1999 film)|The Matchmaker]]'' and ''[[Male Sorority Director]]''-->
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="center"|Shanghai Film Critics Awards<ref name="imdbawards" />
|rowspan="2" valign="center" align="center"|1999
|Film of Merit
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|Best Director
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|Beijing Student Film Festival<ref name="imdbawards" />
|align="center"|1999
|Jury Award: Best Film
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="center"|China Obelisk Film Awards<ref name="Lu2005-126"/>
|rowspan="2" valign="center" align="center"|1999
|Outstanding Film Director
|{{Won}}
|with two other directors
|-
|Outstanding Feature Film
|{{Won}}
|with nine other films
|-
|[[São Paulo International Film Festival]]<ref name="imdbawards" />
|align="center"|1999
|Audience Award: Best Feature
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|[[European Film Awards]]<ref name="imdbawards" />
|align="center"|1999
|Screen International Award
|{{nom}}
|
|-
|[[Golden Bauhinia Awards]]<ref name="Bauhinia">{{cite web | url=http://www.dianying.com/en/awards/goldbauhinia/246 | access-date=9 October 2009 | date=19 March 2000 | title=The Winner of 5th Golden Bauhinia Awards, 2000 | publisher=Chinese Movie Database}}<br />* {{cite web | publisher=[[Golden Bauhinia Awards]] | url=http://www.hkfca.org/GBA/result5.htm | title=2000年第五屆金紫荊獎得獎名單 (List of winners at the 5th Golden Bauhinia Awards, 2000) | date=4 August 2005 | access-date=9 October 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080319230941/http://www.hkfca.org/GBA/result5.htm| archive-date = 19 March 2008|language=zh}}</ref>
|align="center"|2000
|Top 10 Chinese films
|{{Won}}
|with nine other films
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="center"|[[Young Artist Awards]]<ref name="imdbawards" />
|rowspan="2" valign="center" align="center"|2000
|Best International Film
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|Best Performance in an International Film (Young Performer)
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|Kinema Junpo Awards<ref name="imdbawards" />
|align="center"|2001
|Best Foreign Language Film Director
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|Isfahan International Festival of Films<br />for Children & Young Adults<ref name="imdbawards" />
|align="center"|2001
|Golden Butterfly
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|[[Changchun Film Festival]]<ref name="imdbawards" />
|align="center"|2008
|Golden Deer: Outstanding Film in Rural Theme
|{{Won}}
|with four other films
|-
|}