 Neither Not One Less nor Zhang 's other 1999 film The Road Home was selected for the 1999 Cannes Film Festival 's Official Selection , the most prestigious competition in the festival , where several of Zhang 's earlier films had won awards . The rationale is uncertain ; Shelly Kraicer and Zhang Xiaoling claim that Cannes officials viewed the Not One Less ' happy ending , with the main characters ' conflicts resolved by the generosity of city dwellers and higher @-@ up officials , as pro @-@ China propaganda , while Zhu Ying claims that the officials saw it and The Road Home as too anti @-@ government . Rather than have his films shown in a less competitive portion of the festival , Zhang withdrew them both in protest , stating that the movies were apolitical . In an open letter published in the Beijing Youth Daily , Zhang accused the festival of being motivated by other than artistic concerns , and criticized the Western perception that all Chinese films must be either " pro @-@ government " or " anti @-@ government " , referring to it as a " discrimination against Chinese films " . 
