Please Vote for Me

With all of the pandering and dirt slinging that we're used to in our political campaigns it's hard to imagine an election without them, and the Chinese documentary Please Vote for Me shows us why. Please Vote for Me follows the election for class monitor in a third grade class. Since the candidates are three Chinese eight year-olds they were all unfamiliar with the democratic method, but on day one they became just as sneaky and cut-throat as any seasoned American candidate.

The film is definitely an interesting look into what the competitive nature of democracy can do to people, and it has some pretty adorable moments when the children realize their tactics are hurtful to their opponents. My only issue with the movie is there was no feedback from the students. They were the ones experiencing a new concept, but once the election is over the movie just ends.

Please Vote for Me seems to be a very fair documentary. It doesn't try to force an artificial narrative. And the audience is able to decide for themselves which kids do the best. It doesn't play up the melodrama or seem gimmicky. The film makers took a very passive role in making this film, which is how I think a documentary should be—more natural.

Please Vote for Me is an interesting social experiment, and with a run time of just under an hour it's worth watching to see some kids slapped in the face with some cold, hard deomcracy.

Eight out of Ten.