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 "... a mosaic that adds a shot of offbeat comedy to the lyrical grace of Iran's serene cinema."
-- Sean Axmaker, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
"Beautiful to watch and holds a certain charm."
-- Marta Barber, MIAMI HERALD
"A real winner -- smart, funny, subtle, and resonant."
-- Marjorie Baumgarten, AUSTIN CHRONICLE
 "The pace of the film is very slow (for obvious reasons) and that too becomes off-putting."
-- Liz Braun, JAM! MOVIES
"Samuel Beckett applied to the Iranian voting process."
-- Walter Chaw, FILM FREAK CENTRAL
"An absurdly funny and sharply evocative political allegory."
-- Kevin Courrier, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
"The locations go from stark desert to gorgeous beaches. The story plays out slowly, but the characters are intriguing and realistic."
-- Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, THEMOVIECHICKS.COM
"It's a strong testament to the power of the individual to make a difference, not necessarily through the popular vote, but through the simple act of communication."
-- Ken Fox, TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE
"[A] wonderfully loopy tale of love, longing, and voting."
-- Pam Grady, REEL.COM
"Though the film is static, its writer-director's heart is in the right place, his plea for democracy and civic action laudable."
-- Harvey S. Karten, COMPUSERVE
"In a movie full of surprises, the biggest is that Secret Ballot is a comedy, both gentle and biting."
-- Moira MacDonald, SEATTLE TIMES
"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."
-- Adam Nayman, EYE WEEKLY
"Offers both a gentle humor and a sly but unmistakable optimism about what life in Iran might one day be."
-- Jean Oppenheimer, NEW TIMES
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"A playful Iranian parable about openness, particularly the need for people of diverse political perspectives to get along despite their ideological differences."
-- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH
"...a solid, well-formed satire."
-- David Cornelius, AMAZING COLOSSAL WEBSITE
"It may not be the most immediate or attention-grabbing work, but there's certainly something satisfying in its thoughtfulness."
-- Warren Curry, FILMCRITIC.COM
"An ironic speculation on democracy in a culture unaccustomed to it."
-- Duane Dudek, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
"In questioning the election process, Payami graphically illustrates the problems of fledgling democracies, but also the strength and sense of freedom the Iranian people already possess, with or without access to the ballot box."
-- Maria Garcia, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
"A rarity among recent Iranian films: It's a comedy full of gentle humor that chides the absurdity of its protagonist's plight."
-- Chris Hewitt, ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS
"By turns whimsical and absurdist, Babek Payami's Secret Ballot is a slight but likable Iranian film with the flavor of a shaggy-dog story conceived by Samuel Beckett and directed by Jim Jarmusch."
-- Joe Leydon, SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
"Secret Ballot is a funny, puzzling movie ambiguous enough to be engaging and oddly moving."
-- Kim Morgan, OREGONIAN
"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"
-- Frank Ochieng, MOVIE EYE
"Too slow, too long and too little happens."
-- Steve Rhodes, STEVE RHODES' INTERNET REVIEWS
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FRESH 81%
Avg. Rating: 7/10 |
"A beguiling, slow-moving parable about the collision of past and present on a remote seacoast in Iran."
-- Ray Conlogue, GLOBE AND MAIL
"There has been much puzzlement among critics about what the election symbolizes. I believe the message is in the messenger: The agent is a woman."
-- Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
"Clever but slow."
-- Jonathan Foreman, NEW YORK POST
"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."
-- J. Hoberman, VILLAGE VOICE
"Will amuse and provoke adventurous adults in specialty venues."
-- Kirk Honeycutt, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
"A comedy that provides serious testament to the arduous, often dreary, always imperfect work of democracy."
-- Ann Hornaday, WASHINGTON POST
"A psychic journey deep into the very fabric of Iranian ... life."
-- Desson Howe, WASHINGTON POST
"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."
-- Dave Kehr, NEW YORK TIMES
"A gem, captured in the unhurried, low-key style favored by many directors of the Iranian new wave."
-- Patrick Z. McGavin, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"Secret Ballot is too contemplative to be really funny."
-- Carla Meyer, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
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"Payami tries to raise some serious issues about Iran's electoral process, but the result is a film that's about as subtle as a party political broadcast."
-- Jamie Russell, BBCI FILMS
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* Who are the Approved Tomatometer Critics?
* Mouse over a tomato icon for a publication's original rating. Original rating not available for every publication.
* In fairness to critics whose last name begins with a letter at the end of the alphabet, certain pages are sorted in reverse order, z-a.
* Certain "Secret Ballot" article data provided by the Movie Review Query Engine.
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lepetitchat78
| If I could be anywhere: "Back in Cuba, sitting Indian style on the Malecon. Mojito in one hand, handsome revolutionary in the other." |
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