Ji, Mary

801, Chinese

May 13, 2003

Not One Less

Not One Less is truly a striking story between a preteen teacher and a misbehaved student. Although I may not have understood this movie when I first saw it, I now know what the movie is about by looking at the character traits of the teacher and the students including the misbehaved Zhang Huike. This story was warming because of how one teacher who doesn’t belong tries so hard to keep her promise to not have one less. The characters in this story tell me about their education as well as how their conditions of living are. The characters in this story also show the lack of educational supplies in China. The movie was fine and the characters gave off funny emotions especially the facial expressions of Huike.

The story was about how Teacher Gao had to leave to take care of his mother so then Wei Minzhi also known as Teacher Wei was hired. In the beginning when she taught, the students didn’t take her seriously especially Zhang Huike who liked to tease the other students and not pay attention in class. Then a man who works for the sports came which overjoyed the Principle because he wanted to find fast runners for his team so the Principle told him about the runner who runs everyday. The man for the sports wanted to bring her to the city to run, which Teacher Wei absolutely refused because she could not have one less student when Teacher Gao comes back. She promised him, so she decided to hide her. The Principle found out where she was because of Zhang Huike who easily bribes the Principle into buying him two pens. So then the runners gone, so it’s one less. Then Zhang Huike had to drop out of school because he had to go to the city to work to pay off this family’s debut. Teacher Wei went to the city to find him with the help of her students by moving bricks. When she got there she found out that he was lost so she decided to make an announcement over the speakers, write fliers and go on television. The announcement on the speakers and the fliers failed but she got to go on television to talk about Zhang Huike, and when he heard that she was looking for him, he was overjoyed and started crying.

Teacher Gao was the teacher who left the school to care for his sick mother, which lead Teacher Wei to be hired. The students were mischievous at times because they didn’t like the new teacher because they didn’t get to know her just yet. Zhang Huike on the other knew who Wei Minzhi was. She was his neighbor. He always fouled around when she tells them to take notes.

I personally enjoyed the movie because it shows how one person’s problem became everyone’s. I enjoyed how the characters treated each other, first not caring about anyone but themselves, and then finally caring about a students so they help Teacher Wei in bring him back. On the other hand, the characters should have put more emotion into their acting, but besides that, it’s all good.

If I was Teacher Wei, in the situation of bring Zhang Huike home, I would have been like her who would have walked there. Then I would have also went to look at the place where he was working and when finding out that he was missing, would also have dragged the person who lost him to the exact place where she lost him and drag her along until I find Zhang Huike. I on the other hand wouldn’t have let the girl bully me just because I had money, and since she lost Zhang Huike, she shouldn’t have gotten anything. I wouldn’t even be so kind to buy her lunch, if they didn’t have manners, and the snobbish of the girl makes all Chinese look bad about how she tried to steal money.

Overall, I would rate this movie great because it shows a characters struggles and nearing the end closely solving her problem as well as others, such as getting the support of everyone from the television crew, getting more chalk for Teacher Gao, finding Zhang Huike and finally getting the respect of Zhang Huike who had made fun of her since she had came. I was pushed by the ending about how the classroom was a real classroom with students willing to learn. If you are caught in any struggles or problems, you shouldn’t give up because in the end, it would all come through no matter what happens.