When the mother of a village schools teacher falls ill, the mayor can find only one person willing to act as substitute, 13 year old Wei Minzhi. Although she never graduated junior highschool, there is really no other option and so she begins to try and follow the teacher�s instructions for her lessons, the most important of which was not to lose any students. Obviously she is a less than ideal replacement and has no idea how to discipline her students, one of whom becomes increasingly disruptive. However when he suddenly leaves to try and find work in the nearby city, she is determined to bring him back and begins a journey to track him down.
Yimou once again shows his ability to portray everyday life in rural China and also retreads the country girl lost in the big city scenario of The Story of Qiu Ju. Watching Wei slowly find her feet and use her quest as an inspiration for her lessons is enjoyable, but the city sequence isn�t quite grueling enough to make the tearful conclusion as poignant as intended, even though it is highlighting a real problem. Yet what adds at least half a star is the end credit�s revelation that not a single cast member is a professional actor, rather most do the jobs that they portray, from the (in hindsight astonishingly good) lead to the desk clerk at the TV station. That they managed such uniformly convincing performances is the film�s real strength. |
