What a waste of my time!!!

one of my absolute favorites!

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

_Secret Ballot_ is an important film and even a surprising one, with its not so subtle message of voting equality for all. The protagonist is likable and so is her sidekick, the soldier/begrudging escort. The scenery is wonderful as are the insights into a culture that is so seemingly disparate from ours in the US.I also thought the film was subversive in many ways and was surprised it got past the strict censorship that governs the film industry in Iran. _Secret Ballot_ clearly asserts the importance of female equality, and the sexist soldier even exemplifies his respect for her at the end of the movie in a scene that is sweet and touching.There also seems to be the slightest hint of romantic feelings between the two. At first, the ballot collector rides in the backseat of the car, but at the movie's end, she is riding in the passenger's seat. When the ballot collector stops midway to the airplane to give one last look to the soldier, it is a wistful moment. These "feelings" seem to be reciprocated by the soldier when in the last frames, that are almost identical to the first, the soldier/escort tells his pal that he will go on guard duty, because "he cannot sleep" anyway.Still, the pacing of this film is very slow, and at times I could understand why some claim it verges on boring. It is a movie that is probably more significant and thought provoking than enjoyable.

My God, I could make a better movie if I just focused a camera on my *lawn* for two hours!! This movie makes "Solaris" (the supposed Russian "answer" to 2001...NOT!) look like "Fast and the Furious!!!" (Speaking strictly of attention-getting ability and excitement level, of course). I saw no evidence that the dullard soldier gained any kind of "insight" whatsoever! He was basically Forrest Gump's younger, dumber, brother.The final scene was reminiscent of "Sling Blade." The moron just sits and stares, none the wiser, still an idiot."Spoiler??" There was nothing to *spoil* but I checked the box just in case.Maybe Iran thinks they can show "Fundamentalist Islam with a Happy Face" but one look at the woman in a black head covering and cape when it's probably *90 Degrees* outside tells you all you need to know.By the way, just what WERE the two soldiers "guarding" against? Invasion, perhaps from the "Great Satan?" One burst from a 20mm chain gun and they'd be so much falafel.I need a drink! :>)

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.

I just saw this film on the Vienna film festival and found it one of the most lovable comedies ever. It tells about a female voting agent who comes to the middle of nowhere to collect the votes on election day. There, she is faced with lack of interest from the "citizens" and other unexpected problems. Not to mention a local soldier who doesn't like at all that he has to carry her around by car instead of chasing smugglers... The humor of the film is lovely and attains sometimes satirical and even philosophical depth, regarding the futility and inherent senselessness of the voting agent's work in this environment.A highly watchable and recommendable film, even for those who are not very familiar with Iranian cinema, because the pacing of the story never becomes too slow for European viewers.