 The domestic release of Not One Less was accompanied by a Chinese government campaign aimed at promoting the film and cracking down on piracy . Internationally , the film was generally well @-@ received , but it also attracted criticism for its ostensibly political message ; foreign critics are divided on whether the film should be read as praising or criticizing the Chinese government . When the film was excluded from the 1999 Cannes Film Festival 's competition section , Zhang withdrew it and another film from the festival , and published a letter rebuking Cannes for politicization of and " discrimination " against Chinese cinema . The film went on to win the Venice Film Festival 's Golden Lion and several other awards , and Zhang won the award for best director at the Golden Rooster Awards . 
