This movie is a Jewel, some won't get it and that is their loss. It is thought provoking, every scene is a unique canvas painted with the realism of common people who, like people all over the world have their own problems and must make decisions on priorities. The contrast between the two Characters is so NON Hollywood. A simple soldier that is going to be taught and have his world expanded. A young woman who is educated, and believes in the process of elections, is the election agent her job is to collect votes, qualified and valid votes. Simple right? Wrong, she is also going to learn also. The great thing I loved about this movie is the extreme effort they ( the Iranian government) made to collect these votes from this extremely remote and isolated island. This is a must see movie for anyone interested in learning about the Iran, the people and especially the culture. WELL DONE. You could never go on a trip there and see what you see in this movie. This movie has so much love in it; the work is a master piece, of observation without getting in the way or polluting the subject matter. I would love to own their car, even without a windshield.

You can't help but love the tenacity of this lady, it is very interesting to see how this contrasts with the personality of the solider and how all of that together makes a comment about politics, law and life. Once you move away from the hustle-bustle of the city and have the time and space to think, much of what we view as social necessity is absurd, and this film makes that point. I love the directing, it is very relaxed and slow, like life on the island, it makes the lady seem all that more out of place.Its a very unique and well thought out film, to be appreciated most by contemplatives.If you know of other films like this and want to recommend them my email address is cs_weaver @ yahoo .com

After sitting through this film, I have to wonder if the many accolades and awards this movie has received are a case of the Emperor's New Clothes; i.e., it's Iranian, so it must be good no matter what it really looks like. The film plods along at an agonizingly slow pace. Many shots are several minutes in length with little movement. But instead of making a point, these scenes just feel as if the Director was trying to find a way to stretch out the film. (The filmaker's equivalent of using 14 point font on a term paper.) At one point a scene with significance for future scenes is shot from such a distance that the people are mere specks and you are left spending the next ten minutes trying to figure the major plot hole this long distance scene just created.Nearly all the scenes amount to obvious, and vaguely preachy metaphors about the importance of voting. Instead of letting a scene speak for itself, the woman vote collector has to make some preachy statement every time. Even more grating, the soldier accompanying the vote collector speaks ever single line in a monotone as if he is reading his lines off a cue card. This film is billed as a comedy, yet there is nothing remotely funny in the 100 minutes of the film.Perhaps much of the humor and nuances of language are lost in a poor translation from Farsi. However, after seeing and being highly impressed by "Kandahar", I tend to think this is just not a good film.Save your money and 100 minutes of your life for something more worthwhile than this film.

I liked Secret ballot. It's similar to most Iranian films (even though it was written/directed by an Iranian/Canadian from Toronto) as it takes this wildly simplistic idea and then forms a story around it.Secret Ballot is about a lot of things: the chaotic election process in Iran, the women/men relationships there, the isolation of rural areas and the role of women in Iranian society. That's four, you could probably find more if you wanted. A woman college age shows up at an outpost remote from cities and people and takes a sloth like soldier along looking for people willing to vote. It's harder to find voters than she thinks it might be as a lot of folks just don't want anything to do w/ the woman or casting a vote for the democracy that she touts ceaselessly. Secret Ballot has a good deal of sly, quiet moments and its this intelligent astuteness that I liked the most about it. I also enjoyed the harsh, remote terrain the film is set. The entire cast is full of non-pros who have never acted before and they do a fine job and are natural throughout. I especially liked the soldier who seems almost catatonic he's so slow talking. This is a very typical Iranian film: simple, slowish, extremely long and drawn out takes and full of non actors and real people. Plus it's a sly satire that has its own charms.