The Circle (2005)

This film was recommended to me by an old friend who knows and loves movies. He said -- this is something special. He was right. The film is a real masterpiece. Everything in it, the story, the direction, the acting is first class. And very entertaining, too! But what makes it really special is, of course, that it has no montage -- it was shot without edits. Amazing! The French DVD gives a good transfer, but the subtitles are not always in sync with the images. Not a big problem if you understand English, of course. Oh and another thing -- Scott Cohen is very sexy and interesting. I love this film and recommend it to anyone who loves cinema.

Don't pay any attention to one-star reviews by total idiots. This is one of the most, if not THE most amazing piece of film-making I've ever seen. And I'd like to know why the ONLY one-star review is the one featured on the main page. Who decides which review should be the leading one? At first I thought it was done in 3 or 4 takes, which would have been impressive enough, but upon watching it again, I see it really is one continuous scene, start to finish. I don't see how anybody could pull that off. One mistake, one prop out of place, one line-fluff is all it would take, and you'd have to start all over again. This requires planning and execution beyond imagining, at least for me.I could say that it got a bit over the top in the melodrama at times, but did it really? I'd have to say it all fitted with the surreal mood of the whole film.I can't really say much more, else I'd risk giving away too much. If you like, or at least don't mind, something really different for a change, then please don't miss this.

Very unusual experience this film. Refreshingly, I didn't know what to expect at any given moment. The energy of the film was almost gorilla-like. The filming of the movie seemed very raw and simplistic, with a mysterious feel. I found myself eerily captivated. And the most interesting part is the dialog, simple, yet if you don't pay attention, you miss so much, even the most inane conversation is important to the plot line, brilliant! This is the first truly independent film I've seen in years. I recommend this film to anyone tired of the clean Hollywood feel of so called "independent films" these days. If you want an honest, no frills movie experience, check out this movie, you won't know WHAT hit you when your done!

This film was absolutely fascinating. To pull off an entire movie in one continuous shot seems an unattainable feat, but Yuri Zeltser conquers it masterfully. The amazing part of this story is that I didn't notice it was unedited until I read the back of the DVD case - then I went back through the movie and was astonished by the direction and camera work throughout the one-and-a-half hour film. The fact that it was an action/drama even makes it more astounding because these movies often require the most takes. It is a sharp, intelligent and suspenseful tale that plays out like dream. A dream in which the main character, Angela Bettis can't wake up from and turns out to be a horrible nightmare in the end. David Proval also was impressive in his role as a contract killer with a rough edge, but a soft side that shines through with the help of Angela Bettis' character. This film has earned my recommendation and will surely surprise you as film unravels.