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THE CIRCLE Send This Review to a Friend
Among the excellent, important films coming from Iran these days, "The Circle" is the toughest. Jafar Panahi's drama, scripted by Kambozia Partovi, has been banned from showing in their country. No wonder. It is a dark, discomforting drama that sends chilling signals about the plight of Iranian women, and although it is specific in the types it portrays, "The Circle," an achievement in terms of its artistry as well, carries a metaphorical impact.
The dynamic opening depicts the panic of a woman who learns that instead of giving birth to a son as medical tests had indicated would be the case, her daughter has given birth to a daughter. Disbelief and terror are the reactions, as the woman knows her daughter will be abandoned by her husband's family. Baby girls are not a desirable replacement for sons in a country that places so little value on women.
In the course of this powerful film we meet a woman who is desperately trying to abandon her beautiful little daughter because she cannot care properly for her. We meet women who have come from prison and are trying to sort out their lives. One, desperate to have an abortion at the risk of being killed by her brothers, seeks help from a friend who works in a hospital and is married to a doctor. Another seeks a life in a new town but doesn't have the identification that will enable her to travel.
The film pulsates with a conspiratorial atmosphere as we see the lengths to which women must go to be seen alone in the streets or even defy a ban on their smoking in public. The rules are stifling, and the danger of being picked up by the police is ever-present. "The Circle" has an effective scheme of clueing us in on separate stories but also making the necessary connections, and the performances by a cast that includes Mariam Palvin Almani, Nargess Mamizadeh and Fereshteh Sadr Orfani are gripping. A Winstar Cinema release.
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