Geheime Wahl

2001

Secret Ballot (Persian: رأی مخفی Ra'ye makhfi ) is an Iranian film from 2001. It was directed by Babak Payami. The film covers a day in the life of an agent collecting votes on an island in Iran.

The story begins at a small, two-man army post on a remote island. It is voting day, and an election agent is due to arrive by boat. A young woman arrives, collects the official voting box, and demands that the soldier on duty escort her around the island. They climb into a military jeep and begin driving around, looking for voters. The nameless woman is totally dedicated to her duty, a true believer in the importance of voting, a tireless worker, rather voluble and certainly not submissive. This confuses and angers the dim-witted soldier, who feels that a man should be the voting agent. Chador and all, she's clearly a liberated woman, a "city gal" as described by the soldier.

The couple-by-necessity do eventually (jeep trouble aside) scour the land to find eligible voters among the sparse locals. The trek starts in a desert and gradually moves to somewhat greener places. It is educational for both parties. They encounter a variety of people (mostly illiterate peasants) and situations, which simultaneously instructs the two roamers and the audience. By the end of the film, only a few people have voted, and the young woman is largely disillusioned about the entire process. Several people refused to vote for the "approved" candidates, and one voted for her. There is an undercurrent of an unspoken affection having developed between her and the soldier.

Ra'ye makhfi was filmed entirely in Kish Island, a resort island in the Persian Gulf although it is not mentioned in the movie. In fact the setting looks like a semi-barren landscape that could be a mainland or an island. There, by the sea, on a desert beach, two soldiers stand guard against smugglers. Apparently, the locals are not particularly fluent in Persian, the national language of Iran, with some speaking in gulf dialect Arabic. On several occasions, the election agent is frustrated by the language barrier. It is implied that a number of foreign nationals (fishermen, peddlers) are present on the island — they are not eligible to vote, of course. The locals are very strict Islamists; some of the women even wear face masks in public. Women are completely submissive to the wishes of their men and will not vote unless given permission.

A serious natural, sly, or tongue-in-cheek humor emerges in this realistic, ethnographic, patriotic work that is quite outspoken which stresses isolation, not poverty. And it is not bound by politically correct limitations. The young woman from the city, commenting on the minimum voting age, says of a local "She can marry at 12 but she cannot vote."

She is fanatical about the importance of everybody having the opportunity to cast a vote, contrasted to the soldier's near indifference. He sees no real point, and some of the islanders agree with him. Yet others go to great lengths to find her. They live in a remote rural area with unpaved roads, little electricity, and few cars, and Payami is using the various people they meet to show some of the views on the democratic process and life in general. One woman is young enough to wed but not old enough to vote. Some people disagree with the entire list of candidates; others feel it is wrong for women to vote at all. The negative experiences are enough to test the agent's unwavering confidence in her beliefs, and her conviction is enough to cause the soldier to question his indifference.

Payami makes pronounced use of long shots (avoiding close-ups in favor of vistas, framing people and sights at a distance) and long takes with shooting scenes continuously for three minutes or more. This directly impacts upon the mood in the film.

In 2001, the film won:

In 2002, the film won

In 2003, it was nominated for the PFS Award (Democracy) at the Political Film Society, USA.

Quelle: Wikipedia(englisch)
Kinostart:2001
09.10.2003 in Deutschland
weitere Titel:
Raji Maxfitg-latn
رأی مخفیfa
Тайное голосование
Secret Ballot
Il voto è segreto
Райи Махфиtg
Valdagen
祕密投票zh-hant
秘密投票zh-cn zh-hans zh
Geheime Wahl
비밀 투표ko
Pleidlais Guddcy
El voto es secreto
Genre:Filmkomödie, Filmdrama
Herstellungsland:Iran, Italien
Originalsprache:Persisch
Farbe:Farbe
IMDB: 1272
Verleih:LUCE, Netflix
Regie:Babak Payami
Drehbuch:Babak Payami
Schnitt:Babak Karimi
Musik:Michael Galasso
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Rezensionen:

2003
Political Film Society, USA
PFS Award
Democracy
Nominiert
2002
Newport International Film Festival, Rhode Island
Jury Award
Best Feature Film
Nominiert
2002
Rotterdam International Film Festival
Netpac Award - Special Mention
Nominiert
2001
London Film Festival
FIPRESCI Prize - Special Mention
Nominiert
2001
São Paulo International Film Festival
Special Jury Award
Nominiert
2001
São Paulo International Film Festival
International Jury Award
Best Feature Film
Nominiert
2001
Tokyo FILMeX
Grand Prize
Nominiert
2001
Valladolid International Film Festival
Golden Spike
Nominiert
2001
Venice Film Festival
Golden Lion
Nominiert
2001
Venice Film Festival
Pasinetti Award
Best Film
Nominiert
2001
Venice Film Festival
Silver Lion
Best Director
Nominiert
Datenstand: 10.11.2023 21:02:51Uhr