Moonlight Mile. Brad Silberling. Opens October 4 at multiple locations. Reviewed this issue.
Red Dragon. Brett Ratner. Opens October 4 at multiple locations. Reviewed this issue.
Secret Ballot. Babak Payami. In Farsi, with English subtitles, this newest Iranian import takes place on a remote and desolate island where two soldiers spend their days patrolling a barren strip of land, on the lookout for smugglers. Instead of smugglers, an election official arrives one day to give island residents an opportunity to vote in a national election. The soldier assigned to escort the agent is shocked and dismayed to find that the bureaucrat in question is a woman. The woman, on the other hand, is an idealist who believes that change will come if only people exercise their right to vote. Clearly a clash between the old guard and a new, more democratic outlook. Though lacking the emotional resonance and appeal of something like The White Balloon or the overt political criticism of The Circle, this Iranian film has a gentle humor and a sly but unmistakable optimism about what Iran might be like one day. Opens October 4 at the Tivoli. (JO)