Director Zhang Yimou's film Not One Less was a compelling piece of cinematography that had a certain sense of realism to it, similar to The Wind Will Carry Us. The film shows the viewer the stark contrasts between the highly industrialized cities of Hong Kong and Beijing (as seen in popular media) and the mountainous, rural environments of the large majority of China's inhabitants. The film takes this one step further by depicting a poor village, which again is in stark contrast to the highly publicized growth of China's economy and urban areas. Not One Less seems to be challenging more the Westerners view of China, and tries to draw the viewer away from the idealized cities and into the more realistic villages that cover most of China.
Of course, the ideal of showing us the more realistic nature of China can apply to those who are urban-Chinese citizens or of the younger generation. Possibly, their exposure to the villages and the poverty in parts of their country are limited, similar to the situation in most Western countries, but I feel that it is more pandering to the Western audiences sensibilities (a notion that Zhang Yimou was criticized for in the critically-acclaimed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
This message of contrasts between the urban and the rural is interwoven into a compelling narrative about one girl's persistence, and the children she substitute teaches for. Her trials and tribulations are comparable to those of a single mother, who tries to balance her own goals (like Wei's goal to earn the extra Yuan / to bring back Zhang Huike) with the realities of having to care for your dependents (the children Wei teaches / Zhang Huike). The tale of her struggles seems to fall upon universal lines and most audiences, no matter what country, could relate this message to events in their own lives.
Overall, Not One Less was a compelling tale that contained a message about the contrasts of rural and urban China. Although I would have not seen the film on my own accord, I would recommend it to others.
-Julian
1 comment:
OK. Interesting comments. I think you meant Ang Lee instead of Zhang Yimou. Perhaps, this is too late, but post your comments by Friday.
Post a Comment