Circumstance (2011)

I don't understand why this movie has such a low rating. This movie is SO IMPORTANT. I think that everyone should see it to understand better what is STILL happening in the world right at this moment. Movie is different than what we usually see these days. It touches an issues of women/lgbtq people in Iran, a muslim conservative country. Acting of Nikohl Boosheri and Sarah Kazemy is really something to talk about. I absolutely loved it. It really fits their characters and they did an amazing job. They made me really feel the characters. I can't imagine better actresses for the roles. All in all, amazing movie, 10/10. Not everyone will like it but I think it's worth to give it a shot at least..

I had heard good things about this movie and I had wanted to see it for years. Finally, I watched it and could not be more disappointed. As an Indian woman who grew up in India and moved to the United States in early adulthood, I can identify with many elements of the Iranian youth culture as well as the western elements in the movie. The big problem with the movie is that many scenes are forced and contrived in an unreal way. And most of the time this forced language is used to make some obvious point that women are suppressed by the men. For example, there is one scene where Mehran says "I'll control my wife, you control your daughter". Never in my life have I heard a man directly say that to another man! And it is hard to imagine that a man would such a thing directly, especially in the type of society/family mehran comes from which is wealthy and well educated. Certainly, control is exercised over the women but it is more subtle and nuanced than that. It is the same way in India and that is why I can identify with this situation. It is almost as if the writer felt she HAD to use such direct land pedantic language because the audience is a fool and won't be able to pick up on subtleties. It is very clear that the film is made for a western audience. If you actually live in Iran or a similar type of culture, you would know that the story line is just bullshit and far from reality. I thought that the writer and director would be Iranian, but after I saw the movie I immediately knew that she must be an Iranian living in the west (without even looking it up). It reeks of the air of superiority that many US directors have when they make films about a foreign culture. The director tried to show that the west is more progressive and "free" because of movies like "Milk" and "Sex and the City". In the scene where the Iranian girls are trying to dub these movies in Farsi, the writer is implying that these western movies are the only outlet they have through which they can start a dialogue about being gay. The idea is good and has lots of scope, but it falls flat when it comes to story line development and capturing the real subtleties of Iranian/Asian culture. Instead of doing a service to the gay community in Iran, I think the writer has done an absolute disservice to the youth of Iran and women in Iran, by trying to show that they can only be considered "free" or progressive when they ape western habits. When really, a woman can be free and independent by many means possible, even while wearing a hijab. I kept waiting for the character development to happen, but it never materializes and the end of the movie just left me feeling empty. Very anti-climatic. If I had a chance to meet the director, I would make sure she knew that she should be ashamed for pandering the the US audience and failing to capture her own culture in all the complexity it has - both the beauty as well as the harsh realities.

So what if the story does not reflect the Iranian society, culture and LGBT community? This is a beautiful coming-of-age story about love between two girls developing in a strongly oppressed society. Even if it is not Iranian, which is hard for me to believe, unfortunately there are many other places on Earth where same-sex love is strongly disapproved of and even criminalized.This multi-faceted film tells several stories and all but the love story are very disturbing - religious fanaticism, denied human rights, strong patriarchal society, drug addiction, hypocrisy, personal psychological issues. Amid the turbulent background, there is a pure and innocent relationship between the two girls, aged 16-ish. The two leading actresses played excellent roles, portraying masterfully both joy and agony. The agony which they are going through is almost physically hurting. I admired attention to detail in depicting this young love. The only thing that lacked a stronger connection between the two girls is the marriage ceremony and party afterward. As a turning point of their lives, one would expect their belonging to each other to be expressed more clearly especially through eye contact.Contemporary lesbian cinematography contains true masterpieces but also epic fails. This film is one of the bright examples of a well-written, directed and produced pieces of art. In spite of the ending, we are indeed left with hope that things can change for same-sex love in this dark world.

I noted this movie on my cable service and had it recorded since I saw it had an 86% favorable audience ranking. Since I am Iranian I was more interested to watch this movie. I had recorded the movie on my DVR some months ago until I got to watch it tonight. Unfortunately I was not impressed by this movie. This movie is about lesbian love between two Iranian teenage girls in post 2009 Iran. The movie is slow moving. There is little character development in the movie. Too many story lines are crammed into this movie and make it incoherent.The plot is perhaps believable for audiences with little actual appreciation of the real life "circumstances" in Iran, who are accustomed to the usual clichés that abound on mass media narratives about Iranian life. For me the plot was not believable, teenage rebellion ala Western teenager, for example purportedly 16 year old girls doing shot after shot at the party, except among the super rich kids, just does not ring true. The addict musician brother who inexplicably turns religious and Islamic moral vigilante but wears a tuxedo to his wedding and dances with unveiled women in very appealing dress and makeup just does not ring true. I give the movie a 5 for effort.