I see Payami as creating a formal relationship between his audience and subject that encourages us to be open-minded: neither of the two main characters can be seen as all right or all wrong...

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 10, 2022

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 7, 2008

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 30, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 4, 2005

Long, still vistas . . . nicely surreal . . . some hard questions about faith and democracy, law and lawlessness, acting for the common good.

Full Review | Dec 1, 2003

The sophistication of the Western democratic machinery seems absurd and its elaborate schemes for representation unreal by comparison.

| Original Score: A | Aug 1, 2003

Interessante filme que mostra a realidade poltica e social no Ir, o autoritarismo com relao s mulheres e as contradies de um pas governado pela religiosidade.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 25, 2003

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 14, 2003

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.

| Original Score: B | Jan 15, 2003

A solid, well-formed satire.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 6, 2003

Slow, simple, quiet and intriguing. Payami investigates possibilities, and his curiosity carries us along.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 5, 2002

'...[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...'

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 16, 2002

The locations go from stark desert to gorgeous beaches. The story plays out slowly, but the characters are intriguing and realistic.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 11, 2002

A real winner -- smart, funny, subtle, and resonant.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 22, 2002

Secret Ballot is a funny, puzzling movie ambiguous enough to be engaging and oddly moving.

| Sep 20, 2002

A psychic journey deep into the very fabric of Iranian ... life.

Full Review | Sep 13, 2002

A comedy that provides serious testament to the arduous, often dreary, always imperfect work of democracy.

Full Review | Sep 13, 2002

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 10, 2002

It's an offbeat treat that pokes fun at the democratic exercise while also examining its significance for those who take part.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 6, 2002

Beautiful to watch and holds a certain charm.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 6, 2002