‘CIRCUMSTANCE’ REVIEW: Dealing with social taboos in today’s Iran

Maryam Keshavarz’s new film, Circumstance, takes a subjective look at modern-day Iran, detailing how two teenage girls find it increasingly difficult to cope with the social and religious norms around them. Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri) and Shireen (Sarah Kazemy) lash out against their surroundings by partying, swimming and kissing each other. They keep their relationship hidden, knowing that if the truth comes out, the slaps they’ve received on the wrist may soon turn violent.

Keshavarz, who shot the film in Lebanon, always keeps the difficulties of Atafeh and Shireen in perspective; their plight never stoops to petty melodrama. She doesn’t achieve this by hitting the audience over the head with historical footnotes or political strife. Circumstance is a highly personal film that carefully charts the tribulations of two girls who are forever affected by the history around them, but never seemingly a part of it. Rather than showing the outside world, the director lets Iran seep into the lives of her creations.

Atafeh comes from a wealthy, liberal family. Shireen has a sordid upbringing. Her parents, who were revolutionary writers, are gone, and the authorities suspect Shireen of constant foul play. When the two girls are questioned by the police, it seems as if Shireen takes the brunt of the attacks.

When Atafeh and Shireen escape from their daily lives they take to the hidden corners of Tehran. They discard their reserved clothing for sexier dresses that will be familiar to Western audiences. They dance with men and women in locked apartments and basements. When they travel to the beach, they disrobe to their underwear and go swimming in the sea. Their ultimate act of defiance is when they share several scenes of passionate kissing with each other.

For the most part, Atafeh and Shireen are able to wiggle their way out of the view of their families and the authorities. But one person defiantly stands in their way: Atafeh’s brother, Mehran (Reza Sixo Safai), who increasingly turns to his Muslim faith for guidance in life. Never portrayed as a stereotypical zealot, Mehran still comes across as the character who brings Atafeh and Shireen’s dreams crashing to the ground.

Keshavarz, who drew inspiration from her own life, has a wonderful handle of her characters, but lets the plot get away from her. When Atafeh and Shireen are wandering around like aimless teenagers, not caring about what can be perceived as wrong or right, Circumstance feels organic. When Mehran enters the picture and the climax of the 107-minute film builds to a crescendo, it feels too often like story devices are at work, as if a proper closing act was haphazardly slapped onto an unconventional indie film.

The performances of both Kazemy and Boosheri are nicely layered, which is impressive being that the film is their first leading roles. The camerawork is very personal, allowing the viewer to experience the rambunctious teenage life along with Atafeh and Shireen. A few scenes seem out of place and pushed onto the characters to prove some point (most notably, a sequence where the girls and their friends dub the dialogue to Gus Van Sant’s Milk).

But there’s no denying that Keshavarz is passionate about her subject matter, and much of that unadulterated passion makes it to the screen. It’s almost as if you can hear the director in the background, whispering for the change her characters are unable to experience and wishing her own movie turned out with a happier ending.

• Circumstance

• 2011

• Written and directed by Maryam Keshavarz

• Starring Sarah Kazemy, Nikohl Boosheri and Reza Sixo Safai

• Running time: 107 minutes

• Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug use

• Rating:

• Click here to purchase Circumstance on DVD.

• Click here for Hollywood Soapbox’s interview with Maryam Keshavarz.