Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Minzhi Wei | ... | Wei Minzhi |
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Huike Zhang | ... | Zhang Huike |
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Zhenda Tian | ... | Village Chief |
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Enman Gao | ... | Teacher Gao |
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Zhimei Sun | ... | Sun Zhimei |
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Yuying Feng | ... | TV Receptionist |
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Fanfan Li | ... | TV Host |
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Yichang Zhang | ... | Mr Zhang, instructor |
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Zhanqing Xu | ... | Brick factory owner |
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Hanzhi Liu | ... | Zhang Huike's mother |
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Ma Guolin | ... | Bus station man |
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Wu Wanlu | ... | TV station manager |
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Liu Ru | ... | Train station announcer |
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Shulan Wang | ... | Stationery store clerk |
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Xinmin Fu | ... | TV station director |
In a remote mountain village, the teacher must leave for a month, and the mayor can find only a 13-year old girl, Wei Minzhi, to substitute. The teacher leaves one stick of chalk for each day and promises her an extra 10 yuan if there's not one less student when he returns. Within days, poverty forces the class troublemaker, Zhang Huike, to leave for the city to work. Minzhi, possessed of a stubborn streak, determines to bring him back. She enlists the 26 remaining pupils in earning money for her trip. She hitches to Jiangjiakou City and begins her search. The boy, meanwhile, is there, lost and begging for food. Minzhi's stubbornness may be Huike and the village school's salvation. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
An excellent movie. Hats off to the director Yimou Zhang for getting wonderful performances from non professional actors. The way a burning social problem, effects of poverty on the education system and poor children, is interestingly woven into a story and captivating plot structure. The substitute village teacher, Minzhi Wei, a 13 years old girl, wants to buy a round trip to the city by bus from her workplace to fetch a missing student and does not have money. She succeeds in convincing the whole class to do labour,carrying bricks, to mobilize money. The ensuing mathematical calculations in the class and on the black board add to the school goings on while touching the emotional chords of the audience. The teacher's struggle in the city to trace out the student, her stubborn 'never say quit' attitude form part of the later half of the film that ends on a positive note by bringing the problem of education into focus. The contrast in the village and urban life styles is well brought out. some scenes that impressed me strongly are: the teacher running after the van carrying a student. argument by the teacher and students with the brick kiln owner. teacher's walk to the city. the writing of posters by the teacher and the posters being swept away while the teacher is asleep. the innocent enquiries of the teacher at the TV Station entrance. the broadcast talk of the teacher addressed to the student. the joy of the students when they get lots of colorful chalk.
a must watch for all the socially aware citizens of the world.