its subtext is harshly critical of them: he pointed out that the apparently benevolent TV station manager seems to be motivated more by audience ratings than by altruism, that the receptionist's callous manner towards Wei is a result of Chinese "bureaucratism and nepotism", and that for all the good things about the city, Zhang Huike's clearest memory of city life is having to beg for food. Zhang and Kraicer both argued that critics who see the film as pro-government propaganda are missing the point and, as Kraicer put it, "mistaking [one] layer as the message of the film ... mistaking the part for the whole". David Ansen of Newsweek and Leigh Paatsch of the Herald Sun each pointed out that, while the film is "deceptive[ly]" positive at face value, it has harsh criticism "bubbling under the surface". Chinese critics Liu Xinyi and Xu Su of Movie Review recognized the dispute abroad over whether the film was pro- or anti-government, but made no comment; they praised the film for its realistic portrayal of hardships facing rural people, without speculating about whether Zhang intended to criticize or praise the government's handling of those hardships. Hao Jian of Film Appreciation, on the other hand, was more critical, claiming that the movie was organized around a political message and was intended to be pro-government. Hao said that Not One Less marked the beginning of Zhang's transformation from an outspoken independent director to one of the government's favorites. Overall, critics were impressed with the performances of the amateur actors, and Jean-Michel Frodon of Le Monde called that the film's greatest success. Peter Rainer of New York Magazine praised the scene of Wei's interview on TV as "one of the most improbably satisfying love scenes on film". The film also received praise for its artistic merits and Hou Yong's cinematography, even though its visuals were simplistic compared to Zhang's previous films; for example, A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised the "richness" displayed by the film despite its deliberate scarcity of color. Reviewers also pointed out that Zhang had succeeded in breaking away from the "commercial entertainment wave" of popular film. Noel Vera of BusinessWorld writes that the film concerns itself mainly with emotional impact, at the expense of visual extravagance, making it the opposite of earlier Zhang Yimou films such as Red Sorghum. Other critics noted the strength of the film's storytelling; for instance,