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Please Vote for Me (Sub) | 
 enlarge | Director: Wiejun Chen
Actors: Luo Lei, Cheng Cheng, Xu Xiaofei
Studio: FIRST RUN FEATURES
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.15
You Save: $10.80 (43%)
New (33) Used (5) from $14.15
Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 24244
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Subtitled), Cantonese (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 55 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 913362
UPC: 720229913362
EAN: 0720229913362
ASIN: B0019Z3P5W
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: August 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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Product Description
Two males and a female vie for office, indulging in low blows and spin, character assassination and gestures of goodwill, all the while guaging their standing with voters. The setting is not the Democratic presidential campaign, but a third-grade class at an elementary school in the city of Wuhan in central China. "Please Vote For Me", which is on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences documentary feature shortlist, packs its fleet hour with keen observations. Chroniciling a public school's first open elections - at stake is the position of class monitor - filmmaker Weijun Chen has crafted a witty, engaging macro-lens view of human nature, China's one-child policy and the democratic electorial process as the ultimate exercise in marketing. (Excerpted from Sheri Linden's review in the Hollywood Reporter)
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| Customer Reviews:
An Experiment in Democracy August 17, 2008
Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Please Vote For Me"
An Experiment in Democracy
Amos Lassen
"Please Vote For Me" (First Run Features) is a superb new documentary about a Chinese experiment in democracy. It asks the questions, "Is democracy a universal value that suits human nature? Do elections inevitably lead to manipulation?" This film is a portrait of society and a town as shown through a school, its children, and its families/
Wuhan, a city in central China, is about the size of London is where the film takes place. A third grade class at Evergreen Primary School has its first experience with the democratic process by holding an election to choose a class monitor. Eight year old students compete for the position and they are aided by their parents and teachers. We see that there is very little difference between an experimental election and the real thing.
The step-by-step process includes the processes of nomination, campaigning, debating and voting and it is all very exciting. The action, drama and raw emotions are fresh and real and in reality it is a story of how parents affect their children. Some parents teach their children some dirty tricks and sneaky tactics that work. We watch as children turn from naiveté and benevolence to manipulation and under-handedness. We see as both clean and dirty campaigns lose to the wealthiest candidate who has the most money with which to buy votes. Intelligence, ability and friendliness take a back seat to money and gifts. The students did not make a choice for their own personal betterment.
This is both an honest and an intimate documentary and it shows some of the truth of China. The film makes cases for both pro-democracy and anti-democracy arguments. It shows how fearful it is to have uneducated voters and an unregulated voting process in a democracy and it shows that without real democracy, an imitation can be cruel and crude.
Filmed in a country that has no democracy, the children are given the freedom to make a democratic decision. Here is a wonderful look at what happens within the democratic process and will make you reconsider your own thoughts of what a democracy really means.
Politics isn't that different for Chinese as it is for Americans - at least in Grade 3 July 30, 2008
Steven I Ramm (Phila, PA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Politics isn't that different for Chinese as it is for Americans - at least in Grade 3
Talk about timing! 2008 is the Olympics in China and the Presidential election in the US. Combining both the fascination with Chinese culture, especially how it is moving into more democracy and western culture, with the concept of a "last man wins" election, Chinese Director Weijun Chen has created a real "nail biter". Which of the three candidates will win in their run for office? Who will bribe the most voters? And who will cheat? Oh, and let's not forget: Who will cry when they are called names.
Yes, this is the story of a real election, but it's not a Presidential one. This is the first free election in Wuhan province and it is for ....... the class monitor of the third grade class at Wuhan Elementary School. With two boys and one girl - chosen by their teacher as candidates - Chen captures the events in real time. We she the parents (or "parent" in the case of the single-parent child) guiding them. But it's interesting to see the tactics that the candidates develop for themselves.
The film is a short 58 minutes and there are no extras (except for the "Trailer" which is nothing more than a compilation of scenes from the film). It's in Mandarin with easy to read English subtitles.
Personally, I'd like to know the "backstory" of this film and how Chen chose to make it but, on its own, this short film will definitely hold your attention and show you that, though we think we're different from other cultures, when it comes to politics we're not that much different, some candidates are just older!
Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
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