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12/30/06
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Secret Ballot (2002)
82
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:57
Fresh:47
Rotten:10
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: A moderately funny comedy that will reward patient viewers.
Theatrical Release:Aug 9, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: Iranian-Canadian filmmaker Babak Payami (ONE MORE DAY) looks at the problems of bringing democracy to Iran in this political and cultural satire, which could almost be called "neo-surrealist" in... [More]
Starring: Nassim Abdi, Cyrus Ab, Youssef Habashi, Farrokh Sho
Director: Babak Payami
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Reviews for Secret Ballot
Payami is to be applauded for taking biting potshots at such volatile issues as Iran's outmoded electoral process and women's status as second-class citizens.
02/04/02
'...[A] contemplation of the significance, absurdities and/or insignificance of the electoral process...[however] Payami gets his point across long before the film ends, with a message that can’t help but hit us over the head...'
10/16/02
A comedy that provides serious testament to the arduous, often dreary, always imperfect work of democracy.
09/13/02
Long, still vistas . . . nicely surreal . . . some hard questions about faith and democracy, law and lawlessness, acting for the common good.
12/01/03
The locations go from stark desert to gorgeous beaches. The story plays out slowly, but the characters are intriguing and realistic.
10/11/02
A rarity among recent Iranian films: It's a comedy full of gentle humor that chides the absurdity of its protagonist's plight.
09/05/02
There are a few stabs at absurdist comedy ... but mostly the humor is of the sweet, gentle and occasionally cloying kind that has become an Iranian specialty.
08/08/02
Top CriticA solid, well-formed satire.
01/06/03
As in practically all Iranian films the cast here is made up of nonprofessionals, and they do themselves a good turn as genuine and marvelously well-conceived characters.
01/15/03
A psychic journey deep into the very fabric of Iranian ... life.
09/13/02
Top CriticAn ironic speculation on democracy in a culture unaccustomed to it.
09/05/02
Payami uses an exquisitely delicate juxtaposition of long shots and close-ups, mobility and stillness, music and found sound, comedy and pathos to suggest both the longing for self-expression and communication, and its limits in a repressive society.
08/08/02
No review available.
07/04/05
There is something that is so meditative and lyrical about Babak Payami’s boldly quirky Iranian drama Secret Ballot...a charming and evoking little ditty that manages to show the gentle and humane side of Middle Eastern world politics
09/01/02
If you're willing to surrender to its languid, indirect style and its offbeat comic sense, you may find it a rich and rewarding little film.
09/01/02
A playful Iranian parable about openness, particularly the need for people of diverse political perspectives to get along despite their ideological differences.
08/08/02
Though the film is static, its writer-director's heart is in the right place, his plea for democracy and civic action laudable.
05/23/02
Slow, simple, quiet and intriguing. Payami investigates possibilities, and his curiosity carries us along.
11/05/02
Methodical, measured, and gently tedious in its comedy, Secret Ballot is a purposefully reductive movie -- which may be why it's so successful at lodging itself in the brain.
08/06/02
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