disgusting, overrated, pointless

Absolutely the worst movie.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This can't be a documentary, as another reviewer already said. For starters, there are many "intimate" moments caught on tape in the most unrealistic way (e.g., a kid telling his machiavellic plans to destroy another candidate's reputation - all steps of his planning and executing are recorded), the camera shoots sometimes at angles that would be impossible to shoot without the cameraman looking really awkward, the characters fit perfectly well into their roles in the plot (which is odd for a documentary), etc., so this casts serious doubts on whether many of the film's good points are real or fake.But as a fiction, is it interesting? Well, more or less, because the main interest in the film is to catch a glimpse at contemporary China, and a fiction destroys this unbiased objective. The film rather reinforces some stereotypes and doesn't show anything new. The novelty would be that the problems of western elections can also happen in China, but this is discarded if the film is a fiction.

This is the most fascinating documentary I've seen in a long time. The subject matter may sound stale, but the action, drama and raw emotions are fresh and real. It's less a story of the baser elements of democracy and/or the human spirit, as some reviewers superficially assert, as it is about how parents affect they children. For all the benefits of parental involvement in their children's academic and emotion success, this film make you stop and question yourself as a parent.Are parents who become overly involved in their children's classroom and socialization with other children doing more harm than good? Especially when they are teaching their children dirty tricks and tactics that actually work. In this documentary, we witness children turn from naive and benevolent to manipulative and under-handed. We watch as the clean and dirty campaigns alike both lose out to the candidate who has the most money to buy votes. Money, gifts and trips outstrip both intelligence and friendliness.In the end, the students make a choice not necessarily in their own personal benefit. On one hand, that seems altruistic. On the other hand, it seems ignorant. But, despite all of this, you can't help but emotionally bond with these young people and start to care about them.This same documentary could be made in town in America, though the topic would probably be sports or cheer leading.

Putting it politely, China is not specifically known for its democratic processes. Normally in Chinese schools, Class Monitor is chosen by the teachers however, on this occasion, the staff have decided to hold a democratic election among the eight year olds to elect a class committee and the student with the most votes there will become Monitor. The three candidates selected are Luo Lei, Cheng Cheng and Xu Xiaofei and so begins the process of canvassing, debating and electioneering.A marvellous little film this one. Filmed in the Chinese school in question, the crew have great access to the classroom and the home lives of the candidates and as a result we get a fascinating snapshot of the democratic process. I chose to ignore the voices in the back of my head that nag at me about how "real" it all is and how the crew got such great access within China etc because the structure of the film is engaging enough to make me forget these minor worries. The "plot" of the documentary is really the candidates taking on one another in debates and trying to win the popular vote and on this level it is really engaging. It helps that the three pupils are real lively characters and make for interesting subjects but of greater value to me was watching how all the things we have come to know in elections are right there from the very start in these eight year olds and their parents.We get dirty tricks, as seen in Xiaofei's opposition organising booing and jeering during her talent show. We get lying and manipulation of the voters and the other candidates; Cheng Cheng being a surprisingly Machiavellian character given his age. It is also fun to watch how the naïve attitude of Lei (saying that he wants people to just vote for whoever they want) is changed as he becomes more driven and clever. Of course all candidates show the importance of presentation and spin as they present themselves, as well as jumping right into negative campaigning against one another as well.Without any obvious prompting from the filmmakers, this all just seems to happen and it is interesting to see it all develop seemingly naturally. The children themselves are a delight and the classroom is full of life and energy, making it easy to engage with even if you are not taken by the parallels with Western democracy. A great little film then; not entirely sure what its agenda is or how it fits in with the real political situation in China but it is fascinating nonetheless to see the election process immediately bring out all the tricks and negativity that we have become tired of in the West.

This movie provided a once in a lifetime opportunity an insider view of a primary school in China. Better yet, you see what happens when a culture deprived of democracy, and on top of that when children are given the liberty to make a democratic decision! It was such a joy to see how these children interacted with each other & how the families were involved in their campaign. I wish we could show our youth the importance of what is so widely taken for granted in our own country. The spirit of competition was over the top, it was a thrill to see the drive and determination of these youngsters! Enjoy, throughly entertaining!