Secret Ballot

That this was financed in Europe is a sign of just how celebrated Iranian cinema has become around the world. The result - while by no means a travesty - does smack of 'Kiarostami-lite'. Like The Wind Will Carry Us, its setting is so remote Sam Beckett would feel right at home. Two soldiers take turns standing guard on a deserted beach. Then, out of the blue, a ballot box drops from the sky, soon followed by an electoral official. Today is election day, and the soldier on day shift must accompany her around the island as she collects everyone's vote. As an absurdist satire on the inviolate ideal of Western democracy, well, it's actually pretty lugubrious. Rather more subtle is the touching respect the soldier develops for the single-minded registrar.