En secret

This film could be a good movie if the film crew knew more about the new generation, specially the girls in Iran. As an Iranian I couldn't believe the main characters. in comparison I can say that the character and performing of Shaun Toub in Crash(2004) and Ben Kingsley in House of sand and fog(2003) that both are non-Iranian, were more believable as Iranian than them. they cannot behave like an Iranian because they don't live in Iran and most of them have never been to Iran(according to IMDb).So each of them is completely performing as a teenager that has been growing in a different culture other than Iran. the film location and its elements are totally nonsense and different with Iran and what is important is that the audience who are familiar with Iranian culture and Iran can easily feel this differences. the Brother personality is very rare among Iranian youth and his behavior is overstated. in nutshell it is not about Iranian circumstances but it is about circumstances which can be related to an Iranian family who live in a foreign country but they think they should still consider some circumstances.

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 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

Teenage love is not easy. It is even more difficult if that love is between two members of the same sex. Throw that mix into a country where homosexual relationships can be punishable by death, and you have the makings of a good story. Atafeh (Boosheri) lives in a family of wealth and privilege with her mother, father and brother, Mehran. (Reza Sixo Safai.) Shireen (Kazemy) comes from the other side of the tracks, so to speak. 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. The pair who are best friends, soon discover that they are in love. The girls are also rebellious to Iran's strict religious and socialist ways. They are big into Tehran's underground nightclub scene, and are friends with people who are self-liberated. Mehran, who was a former drug addict, has become a radical Muslim and informant for the Morality Police. He has planted cameras all over the house to spy on his family. Mehran derives a plan with the Morality Police to marry Shireen after she an Atafeh are arrested by the morality police for partying at a night club. The pair discovers that their circumstances in life are forced upon them and beyond their control. They both dream of running away to Dubai where they would be free to live their lives the way they wanted to. The story had a good plot-line; forbidden love, oppression of women, and teenage rebellion in a patriarchal country… but the narrative seemed to just graze over those subjects as a whole, when it could have gone more in depth with each of them. The sub-plot of Shireen's home life was minimal at best. Atafeh's mother can tell that her daughter's relationship with Shireen is more than friendship, but that part of the story never fully develops either. The plot seemed to move slowly at times, and with a bit of a soap opera pace, but it was good enough to keep my interest in the film. Maryam Keshavarz, in her feature film debut, does however show the impact of Iran's strict religious culture on the two girls. The viewer does get the impression of what could happen to the pair if their true relationship is discovered. The performances of the young actresses, both in their theatrical debut, do a good job in making their relationship believable.

Winner of the Audience Award at the 2011 Sundance film festival, this foreign film is worth the 107 minutes it takes to watch.

The first word that comes to my mind for this movie is exaggeration.All the praying and character of "Mehran" and government agents don't make much sense. The director tried to make the city she was filming in like Tehran which was a wrong choice. She tried to focus on faces and removes the attention to background when shooting in city which ruins the depth of the scenes and every single Iranian easily realize that it is not Tehran. Except for "Azar" no other actors or actresses have native accent.The story line is weak and not thoroughly worked. In general, it would be a good idea to show the homosexuals' problems in Iran and discuss it, but it dissolves in exaggerated opinions of director/writer about the whole government issues and forced marriage and specially in captured minds of people (like in 1984). In my opinion, trying to mix these stuff was a bad idea.