NOT ONE LESS — *** 1/2 — Wei Minzhi, Zhang Huike, Tian Zhenda, Gao Enman, Sun Zhimei, Zhang Mingshang, Feng Yuying; in Mandarin, with English subtitles; rated G (mild vulgarity, brief violence); exclusively at the Tower Theatre.
When moviegoers complain that "They don't make 'em like that anymore," it's likely that the film under discussion is an American classic rather than a new foreign film like "Not One Less."
And that's a real pity, because audiences are cheating themselves every time they fail to support a movie as winning and charmingly low-key as this Chinese import, the latest from filmmaker Zhang Yimou ("Shanghai Triad," "Raise the Red Lantern").
Despite the obvious cultural differences, this is old-fashioned, no-frills moviemaking that harkens back to the days when directors were more concerned with telling a real story than blowing things up or appeasing big-name stars.
"Not One Less" is refreshingly gimmick-free, except that it's done in a "neo-realist" style, which is the new avant-garde filmmaking movement that several Middle Eastern directors have championed for the past couple of years.
Zhang and screenwriter Shi Xiangsheng have taken several true stories and fictionalized them, using amateurs as the cast. Consequently, what you get are fresh faces, like Wei Minzhi, who stars under her real name as a substitute teacher in a remote Chinese village.
The 13-year-old has been asked to fill in for the village's veteran teacher (Gao Enman), who is leaving to take care of his dying mother. However, once he finds out his replacement is an unskilled 13-year-old, he's not exactly thrilled.
So he leaves precise instructions for the girl, which include specific lesson plans — and an enticement: She'll be paid extra if she manages to keep all of the students in school. (This plot device supplies the film with its title.)
Wei agrees, but it's not as easy a task as it seems. First, one schoolgirl is recruited for an athletic academy, and then class troublemaker Zhang Huike (also playing himself) drops out to look for work in "the city."
Though his reasons for leaving are selfless — the boy is trying to support his debt-ridden family — Wei is determined to bring him back. However, there are a couple of complications — she doesn't have money for bus fare and, unbeknownst to anyone at home, the impetuous boy never made it to his new workplace.
As charming as the village sequences are — particularly the bit in which Wei and her students attempt to raise funds by moving bricks — the story is even better in the second half, when it plays up the differences between rural and metropolitan life (which are pretty much universal).
And, given the almost too-melodramatic manner with which director Zhang has attacked some of his previous material, the understated approach here is very refreshing.
The same could be said of the well-struck balance between subtle comedy and moving drama (if you're not touched by one of Wei's brief speeches toward the end, you must be made of stone). And without exception, the mostly amateur cast seems very natural in front of a camera, especially Wei and her wayward charge.
"Not One Less" is rated G, though it does contain some mild vulgarity (childish talk) and brief violence (some schoolyard rough-housing). Running time: 106 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com