Circumstance (2011)

I seldom write reviews for movies, but since the director of this movie is a NYC graduate and I got my film degrees in New York as well (to no avail!), I feel the urge to write the following: You do not have to make a movie even if you are a film graduate and want to succeed! If you know little about a culture, people and society, what urgency do you find to absolutely portray them anyway! You only ruined it for yourself and that's it! The movie fails from the first second to the last, with absolutely no plot, no story telling capabilities, fake dialogue, fake acting and many stolen images and scenes from other successful movies. The director is extremely preoccupied in showing off and has no intention to in fact make a good, truthful and original film, as the story is very interesting, very controversial. I felt even more sorry for the so called intellectual and educated Iranian population abroad as they once again prove incompetent and fake in comparison with Iranian filmmakers in Iran, who despite their enormous limitations and hardships there, tend to stick to originality.....

Fmovies: So unreal. So exaggerated. Since i've watched this film i've started asking myself why and how someone dares to waste money and time to make such a film? Was it a FILM really?!!!!!!! The accents are funny. The actors suck!! (except Ati' mom) There are plenty of goofs. The story is full of lies. The director (?????!!!!!!!!!) needs to wait at least 25 years for her next film. The cars are not the ones which are used in Iran. The praying action is full of mistakes. Mehran's character and acting is awful. The police is not like that in Iran, however they are rude. The hidden camera story in all rooms is more like a joke, everyone is blind in that house?

Circumstance is a beautiful, luscious, sensual and sexually charged drama, done masterfully and tastefully. It is a visual film, but it is also blessed with witty dialogs and good music. It deals with common and real youth and family issues in Iran, and potentially in other countries...Circumstance is about two liberated, free-spirited 16 year old high school girls, the wild and rebellious Atafeh and Shireen. They are best friends and seem together all the time. They go to underground Tehran parties, flirt with boys, experiment with sex and drugs, and often get in trouble. At times they daydream of a better life away from Iran together. But they are more than just friends...

Please see my full review at http://parstimeout.com/2011/05/film-circumstance/.

Circumstance fmovies. I saw this film at Outfest 2011 and was blown away not only by the film's quality of visual and emotional impact, but also the amazing achievement that the artists have made by getting this story told in the first place. The international cast and crew have each taken big risks by telling this gripping story about two young women in love in Iran.

Our audience at the screening was struck by the POSITIVE and FUN images of Iranian youth- excited, energetic, comedic, brave. Very much in contrast with what the media tells us Tehran "looks like." The two female leads are incredibly stunning and give amazing performances. They say more with their eyes than paragraphs or monologues would need to convey. Their chemistry is palpable and the brief but urgent love scenes make any audience member root for their success.

The Director, Maryam Keshavarz, is talented, well-spoken, has a clear and distinct voice and is someone to watch.

CIRCUMSTANCE is a brave film from the respected filmmaker Maryam Keshavarz who both wrote and directed this film about contemporary mores and cultural taboos in Iran. It is a film that dares to create a story about family, the youth culture of clubs and drugs and all night music, about the Morality Police who carefully guard the standards of public (and private!) behavior, and about same sex liaisons. It is a beautifully photographed study of star-crossed lovers who happen to both be young teenage girls and the manner in which they cope with their love and with the family and world outside the sanctity of their breathtakingly erotic moments together. Because of the lack of sanctions of the themes of the film which is supposedly set in Tehran the film had to be shot in Lebanon: knowing this adds to the impact of the drama the film so carefully exposes.

Since any public expression of passion is forbidden between Keshavarz's two teenage female protagonists, it brings a whole other level of tension and dread to their shared attraction. Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri) has the resources and security provided by her wealthy family that allows her to live a double life with her friend and eventual lover, Shireen (Sarah Kazemy). In order to fully explore their feelings, the young women escape into their fantasies of living in a more enlightened land such as Dubai, a haven which is tantamount to Oz. The life of teenage love is difficult enough, but it is even more difficult if that love is between two members of the same sex. Apparently Iran is a country where homosexual relationships can be punishable by death. Atafeh lives in a family of wealth and privilege with her parents (Soheil Parsa and Nasrin Pakkho) and brother, Mehran, (Reza Sixo Safai). Shireen is not of the same class: she lives with her Aunt and Uncle after being orphaned by her parents who were killed by the government for their immoral ways. Atahfeh and Shireen are two teenage school girls who begin as best friends and gradually discover that they are in love. The girls are also rebellious to Iran's strict religious and socialist ways, being caught up in Tehran's underground nightclub scene. Mehran, a former musician and drug addict, has become a radical Muslim and informant for the Morality Police, installing cameras in every room of his home to spy on his family, capturing all the comings and goings of each member of the household, including the trysts between Ayafeh and Shireen, and devises a plan with the Morality Police to marry Shireen after she and Atafeh are arrested by the morality police for partying at a night club. The young lovers discover the circumstances that force them into lives away from each other and the decisions they make (or are made for them) form the conclusion of this haunting film.

Apparently there is great resentment from many Persian viewers who feel the film does not project the real situation in Tehran or in Iran as a whole. This may be true, but the film is not a documentary: Keshavarz has taken an idea and molded with certain flavors and spices and delivers this brave little film by introducing the extraordinary beauty of the two leading actresses. The cast is solid and if the script could use some editing or re-sculpting it still delivers a concept about same sex love and the lack of acceptance that seems to be global. We rarely are able to see Persian films and this one is well worth attention. It is not meant to be factual: it is a story exotically told - and memorable.

Grady Harp

just could not believe that this is a film made by a first time filmmaker......it seemed more like someone who knew his craft of making film rather well....a director well into his 3rd film.....keeping aside the fact its a little confusing in its love & sex angles......which is just the icing on this delicious cake that lies within this film.....the icing being of course Sarah Kazamey as Shireen....she is defiantly going to be the next Monica Bellucci mark my words !!!But what stood out in the film for me was the underground Party scene of Iran and the appropriate use of music to describe it......i guess most people in the west cannot fathom people in eastern( i am from India) or middle eastern countries having a cool time.....well they do n they know how to given the CirCumstance !!!!!!!!!!!!!! and i read the reviews of some people above dishing the film....i mean if you want a film about Iran that is a documentary well then please turn on your respective News Channels or better still plz revisit n read the the summary above.....This film is a Lyrical Drama poetically shot....hats of to the Cinematographer/ DP( lots of cool wong kar wai style moments original in their own unique way).....superb acting by everyone i loved the actor who played Atafeh's father splendid father daughter understanding of a relationship depicted in this film in such a mature n modern way seldom seen in countries where women are meant to be locked up....being an aspiring filmmaker i loved this film by a first time director 5 stars for a fabulous debut.....n yeah for the guys ditching the film take a closer look guys.....n see the nominations & awards and this is her first film !!!