Movie needs a variety, I believe that the fact of being stereo typed is not just for actors or directors or script writers, we as avid viewers also should not be stereo typed in what we pick to see. Be it the theme or language, so today’s treat for your eyes is the Farsi movie by the Iranian/Canadian director Babak Payami, Secret Ballot (Raye makhfi)

Released in 2001 Secret Ballot tells a day in the life of a young female elections agent, a Secret Ballot box and a Soldier in a remote Iranian island. The

movie has a slow and sleepy pace but it goes well with the location of the island and the characters often bringing in a humor tint to the movie as they move through their day.

The movie starts with a box being parachuted on to a beach where two soldiers take turns and stand guard to catch smugglers with one bed, one rifle and a jeep. The box has the secret ballot and instructions for them to wait for an election agent shortly. To the surprise of the soldier on duty a motor boat comes to the shore carrying a young female election agent (he probably did not anticipate a lady). The soldier becomes reluctant to help or take orders from a woman till she hands over the written order that gives him no chance but drive her through the island in his jeep

As the day moves on the agent and her approved list of candidates are faced by a local electorate who at many times need to be persuaded to vote. The movie is fun to watch as the agent confronts interesting objections, like the women who will not vote without permission from their husbands, men who don’t vote because their candidate is not in the list and a religious fundamentalist who insists that the god should be in the list.

The movie ends with the agent and soldier returning back to the beach much different than they started, knowing each other better and understanding the landscape and culture in a clearer plane

The agent and the soldier do not have a name in the movie but are played by Nassim Abdi and Cyrus Abidi respectively.

If you like slow movies, and want to see a different movie, watch this.