Please Vote For Me (A-)

When the documentary Please Vote For Me was originally released into theaters back in 2007, I had no idea it existed. Actually, I didn't know it existed until only a few days ago when it was mentioned on the radio. The premise seemed simple: Three Chinese third-graders partake in an election against each other to decide who becomes the class president (here called "class monitor"), while learning about Democracy at the same time.

After seeing this film, I can honestly tell you that this documentary is absolutely fantastic. This is a film which accomplishes more in its 58 minute runtime than any other film I've seen in a very long time. Because most of the enjoyment of this film comes from the suspense of who will win the election, nothing will be spoiled in this review.

While as mentioned before, the main plot of this film surrounds a class election, other aspects of the film are just as fascinating. You see the troubled parents of these third-graders using anything under their control to have their children elected, whether its field trips to the city monorail, or telling their children to boo their opponents. The lengths these parents go could be made into an entire documentary on its own.

Because of it runs only 58 minutes and is right now on Netflix Instant View, the moment you finish reading this review you should definitely go check out Please Vote For Me.

Grade: A-